Meta has taken down a network of hundreds of Facebook and Instagram accounts that operated from Israel and an influencer targeting users in the US and Canada, according to the company's quarterly threat report published on Wednesday. The campaign has started. Meta also said it took down an Iranian network that was targeting users in Israel.
The Israeli network included 510 Facebook accounts, 11 pages, one group and 32 Instagram accounts. Metta said it took the network down early in its efforts to build its audience, before it could generate activity among authentic communities. The network had less than 500 Facebook followers, less than 100 group members, and about 2,000 Instagram followers.
Meta noted that network operators used fake or stolen accounts, many of which were identified and neutralized by Meta's automated systems. Despite the removal of accounts, operators continued to add new accounts, apparently purchased from account forms. The campaign also bought likes and followers from Vietnam to create a false impression of popularity.
Meta said the network responded to the Facebook pages of international and local media organizations and public figures and politicians, including US lawmakers. The responses included links to the network's websites and sometimes received critical responses from authentic users who called them propaganda. Metta said that he inferred that some of the responses were generated using artificial intelligence.
“These networks have many examples of how they potentially use generative AI tooling to create content. Perhaps it gives them the ability to do it faster or with greater volume. “hasn't really impacted our ability to detect,” said Mike Dovliansky, META's head of threat investigation.
The network accounts impersonated local users in the target countries, including Jewish students and “concerned” African-American citizens. He posted primarily in English about the Israel-Hamas war, called for the release of hostages, praised Israel's military actions, and criticized anti-Semitism on campuses, UNRWA, and Muslims, while claiming that that radical Islam threatens Canadian liberal values;
Meta identified the operator of the network as STOIC, a Tel Aviv-based company that specializes in political marketing and business intelligence. Meta has blocked STOIC from its platforms and sent a letter demanding that it cease any activity that violates Meta's policies.
At the same time, Meta took down an Iranian network targeting users in Israel. The network consisted of 22 accounts, 8 pages, 8 Facebook groups, and 23 Instagram accounts. It had more influence than the Israeli network, with 900 followers on its Facebook pages, 1,400 group members and 3,200 Instagram followers.
The Iranian network's publications, mainly in Hebrew, focused on news and current events in Israel, including criticism of Hamas and support for Israel. One group pretended to be right-wing and initially supported Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. After the October 7 attack, the group criticized Netanyahu's response to far-right policies and supported Itamar Ben-Gvir. Other clusters include fake news covering the ultra-Orthodox community, young liberal Israeli women promoting anti-government protests, and liberal Israelis posting LGBT content.