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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Bryony Gooch

Betting, memes and AI slop: How the smartphone era turned war in Iran into a game show

Iran Polymarket United States White House Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Google Iain Overton Dubai ISNA Israel

On the screen, the animated character cocks his gun and orders a massive nuclear airstrike using a tablet.

The game is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III. Seconds later, real footage appears of US fighter jets taking off from air carriers in the Middle East and bombers striking targets in Iran set to the tune of a Childish Gambino instrumental.

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