Iran-linked disinformation campaigns target Israeli elections

Researchers at the open-source intelligence firm Golden Owl have identified a coordinated network of social media accounts posing as Israeli citizens to influence political discourse. The operation, which investigators assess is linked to Iran, utilized approximately 119,717 accounts and nearly 295,000 relationships to circulate recurring political narratives and AI-generated content in the lead-up to Israel’s October 27 election.

The campaign focused on divisive topics including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the October 7 failures, ultra-Orthodox military draft exemptions, and the cost of living. The network employed a multi-phase strategy where small staging channels produced AI videos and captions that were then republished by larger, more visible personas to amplify distrust and social division.

This activity occurs amidst a broader trend where the Iran conflict has become a digital battlefield. The widespread availability of accessible AI tools has enabled the rapid production of hyper-realistic deepfakes depicting missile strikes and civilian devastation, creating a polluted information ecosystem that complicates the ability of the public to distinguish genuine combat footage from fabricated propaganda.