Fake Reporter Uncovers Coordinated Bot Network Spreading Hundreds of Tweets Against Ofer Winter

The Fake Reporter initiative revealed a coordinated influence network of about 90 accounts that posted 327 tweets against Ofer Winter, chairman of the Amcha Israel party, since last week. The activity began on August 19, following journalist Amiel Yerchi's release of a teaser video announcing Winter's new party launch date and location. Among the responses were six accounts posting their first-ever tweets.

The campaign intensified significantly, with 234 tweets against Winter posted in a single day and 175 tweets, over half the total, disseminated within just one hour, a day after Winter's announcement. Fake Reporter suspects coordination due to the accounts' characteristics: most used AI-generated profile pictures, had few followers, and posted minimal tweets. Some accounts focused almost exclusively on attacking Winter since their creation. The content was highly similar across accounts.

Recurring messages claimed Winter was dangerous, might ally with Avigdor Lieberman to harm Bezalel Smotrich, and that his candidacy could split right-wing votes. These narratives echoed right-wing political campaigns opposing Winter's separate run, fearing vote loss and potential alliances with Lieberman. Additional accusations targeted Winter's party funding and alleged links to the Kaplan protest. Fake Reporter also found some profiles previously promoted messages supporting Otzma Yehudit leader Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Fake Reporter announced it would report all identified accounts for removal and warned that attempts to manipulate discourse and spread misinformation would likely increase as the election campaign progresses.