The ‘Content’ of War in the Age of AI and Influencers

Iain Overton asks whether war has become just another form of online spectacle – shareable, and stripped of its human cost

The bright lights across the Dubai sky on the night of 1 March 2026 were not shooting stars. They were air defence systems intercepting Iranian drones and missiles launched towards the Gulf allies of the United States.

For a city that has long marketed itself as an amoral sanctuary in the desert, a place where money could buy insulation from taxmen and trouble, it was a disturbing lightshow that offered perfect online subject matter.

Some residents ran for cover. Others reached for their phones.