LONDON: An Iranian disinformation unit has been targeting ultra-Orthodox and nationalist Jews on Facebook in a bid to inflame tensions with Palestinians in Israel, a watchdog has revealed.
According to Israeli disinformation monitor organization FakeReporter, the suspected online campaign reportedly operated across various social media platforms, including Facebook, and posed as an ultra-Orthodox Jewish news group supporting extreme right-wing groups.
The watchdog claimed that the goal of the campaign was to fuel “religious war” by amplifying “fear, hatred, and chaos.”
After being approached by FakeReporter, Facebook and Twitter reportedly deactivated the group’s pages and associated profiles. The network, however, has remained active on Telegram.
Facebook said the accounts were likely an attempt of the networks to resurface after some were taken down in March.
The group Aduk (or strictly religious) was created as a Hebrew acronym of virtual religious union for the religious community. It shared articles and posts supporting far-right politicians, encouraged protests, and incited anti-government and anti-Arab sentiment.
FakeReporter chief executive officer, Achiya Schatz, said: “We see this network rise up following the events in May, when Israel was at one of the lowest points in its history in the relations between Jewish and Arab citizens.”
He noted that the networks had gone to extreme lengths to look genuine, including stealing online identities and creating fake shops in Israeli towns.
“It’s another concern because these networks are becoming more and more developed, to see them connecting with such extremists and violent groups ... they’re very fluent in Israeli politics,” Schatz added.
Social media sites have been under fire over the last year for the large numbers of disinformation networks that operate on their platforms. These networks spread propaganda on topics relating to COVID-19, vaccines, and climate change, and have incited extremism, tensions, and violence.
Meta’s 2021 Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior report revealed that the platform had dismantled at least 52 disinformation networks that originated in more than 30 countries.
In December alone, Meta removed eight Facebook accounts and 126 Instagram accounts from Iran that primarily targeted audiences in the UK with propaganda.
