Iranian Influence Accounts Now Promoting Netanyahu, Report Claims

Social media accounts previously identified as part of influence operations against Iran's Ayatollah regime have recently begun disseminating election videos of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and echoing attacks against Israeli opposition leaders. This finding stems from an investigation by Haaretz, which analyzed social media activity and findings from researchers and monitoring firms. According to the report, dozens of accounts that previously promoted Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran's last Shah, have started sharing Netanyahu's content on X, including videos targeting Gadi Eisenkot and Yair Golan. Some have even responded to Netanyahu's posts with messages praising him as a strong leader.

The accounts were initially identified in studies of influence networks aimed at promoting regime change in Iran. Now, the findings suggest some are involved in Israel's political discourse ahead of elections. A study by Expoze identified approximately 1,600 accounts promoting Pahlavi last year. Since July 27, when the official election period began, 185 of these have interacted with Netanyahu's accounts, sharing content where he attacked his rivals. Researcher Inbar Toiber Yassur identified 264 accounts amplifying Netanyahu's messages, including videos where Netanyahu claimed Eisenkot would form a government with Golan, Avigdor Lieberman, and Arab parties.

This activity is not confined to X. On Instagram, suspected fake accounts that previously promoted anti-Iranian regime messages are now commenting in Hebrew on election videos from Netanyahu and right-wing influencers. The Haaretz investigation also included an analysis of a Netanyahu video from July, depicting him as a doctor treating journalists. The video garnered nearly 1.5 million views, but analysis of user activity revealed anomalies: out of approximately 5,000 users involved in its dissemination, only about a third were identified as Israelis, despite the video being in Hebrew and concerning domestic Israeli issues. Among foreign users, about a third were identified as potentially Iranian. These findings suggest artificial amplification of the video, but do not prove who operated the accounts or orchestrated the content distribution.

Following these revelations, the Brandeis Institute and the organization FakeReporter filed a petition with the Central Elections Committee, represented by attorneys Haim Rabia and Matan Adar. The petition includes expert opinions from researcher Inbar Toiber Yassur and Ran Perachi, CEO of Expoze. The Chairman of the Central Elections Committee, Judge Noam Solberg, has ordered Netanyahu, Minister Gila Gamliel, the Likud party, and the Prime Minister's Office to submit their responses by Thursday.

This petition follows a similar one filed last month by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, alleging systematic use of fake accounts to boost Netanyahu's messages on X. The Likud party has denied any connection to the network of accounts and requested the petition be dismissed. Haaretz reports that it is currently unknown who operates these accounts, whether they remain under the control of their original operators, or if they are run by humans or automated systems. The Prime Minister's Office has denied any connection to the affair, as have state and security bodies contacted by the newspaper. Minister Gila Gamliel stated, "It never happened."