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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
Photo: AP/Altaf Qadri
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.
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