LONDON: Meta has removed over 500 Facebook and Instagram accounts, operated as a network from Israel, which were seeking to “manipulate” public debate about Tel Aviv’s war on Gaza, the tech giant revealed on Wednesday.

In its latest Adversarial Threat Report, published on May 29, Meta highlighted that the Israeli network — shut down during the first quarter of 2024 — comprised 510 Facebook and 32 Instagram accounts, 11 pages and one group.

Meta’s investigation found these accounts to have violated its policy defined as “coordinated efforts to manipulate public debate for a strategic goal, in which fake accounts are central to the operation.”

The network targeted audiences in the US and Canada but was discovered and stopped early in its audience-building efforts, Meta said. It had about 500 Facebook and 2,000 Instagram followers, and less than 100 group members.

Meta’s investigation found that these fake accounts had cross-internet operations, with activity on X and YouTube.

Portrayed as representing US and Canadian citizens, the accounts featured posts mostly in English about Israel’s war on Gaza. They included praise for the actions of Israel’s military, criticism of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, and calls for the release of the Israeli hostages.

The network also operated “distinctly branded websites focused on the Israel-Hamas war and Middle Eastern politics.” And promoted them by posting comments on the Facebook pages of international and local media organizations, as well as those of political and public figures, including US lawmakers.

On Oct. 7, Hamas carried out a surprise attack in southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostage.

In retaliation, Israel launched a relentless bombing campaign across the Gaza Strip, killing more than 35,000 Palestinians, displacing 90 percent of the population, and destroying critical infrastructure, according to UN figures.

Meta began investigating the network’s activity following a review of public reports by the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab about inauthentic behavior on X. Meta then found corresponding activity on its own social apps.

But even before the investigation began, Meta’s automated systems had detected and disabled several fake and compromised accounts. However, as these accounts were disabled, the people behind them added others, likely acquired from account farms, it was revealed.

The report found that the backers of the network also purchased inauthentic engagement, including likes and followers, from Vietnam.

The investigation found that there was an attempt to conceal the source of the accounts by leveraging North American proxy infrastructure; and that they were linked to STOIC, a Tel Aviv-based political marketing- and business-intelligence firm.

After banning STOIC on its platforms, Meta sent the firm a letter demanding that they immediately cease activity that violates its policies.

Last week, Meta said it had deactivated the accounts of several Israeli settlers who used Facebook and Instagram to coordinate raids on aid convoys bound for the Gaza Strip. The company said these operations violated its Coordinating Harm policy.

But in December last year, Human Rights Watch accused Meta of “broken promises” after finding the company guilty of “systemic censorship of Palestinian content” and failing to “meet its human rights due diligence responsibilities.”