Haaretz investigative journalists report that a private Israeli surveillance-focused firm appears to be using networks of fake and AI-driven social media profiles to amplify Benjamin Netanyahu’s videos and political messages ahead of the 2026 Israeli election.
What researchers found
A joint filing by the Brandeis Institute and FakeReporter identified more than 1,000 suspicious accounts that were originally used to support efforts to topple the Iranian regime. Of those, 264 accounts helped boost Netanyahu’s content, and 185 accounts interacted with the prime minister’s social media profiles since the official start of the Israeli election campaign on July 27, 2026.
According to the researchers, several dozen accounts—primarily on X—shared Netanyahu’s videos and posts attacking his political opponents. Some of the profiles portrayed Netanyahu as a strongly hawkish wartime leader.
Networks previously active in Iran-focused campaigns
Haaretz and the Hebrew-language newspaper TheMarker exposed two influence networks in 2025 that operated in Persian to promote Reza Pahlavi and to support regime change in Iran. Xpos research found roughly 1,600 accounts in 2025 that promoted Pahlavi; some of those same accounts were also used to amplify posts by Israeli minister Gila Gamliel.
Experts say one of the networks was run by a private Israeli company that had received government support. Another network, unveiled after Israel carried out an airstrike on Evin prison in Tehran in June 2025, displayed rapid, coordinated activity: accounts reported explosions near the prison before local media and then shared a fake video allegedly showing the attack.
AI usage and unusually high engagement
Researchers report a rise in autonomous AI agents in the Israeli online sphere in the weeks before the election. Among the cases examined are AI-generated videos shared by Netanyahu. On August 25, the prime minister posted an AI-generated video implying that, had he listened to a chief rival, a senior Iranian figure would still be alive; a bot replied beneath the post thanking the Israeli prime minister.
Another AI-created video depicted Netanyahu as a doctor supposedly set to “cure” journalists Ben Caspit, Raviv Drucker and Guy Peleg of their alleged ‘‘obsession.’’ That video was also shared by an apparent Iranian account created around the same time as the Pahlavi-supporting influence network. The clip reached about 1.5 million views. Scooper, a social-media monitoring firm, concluded the reach was suspiciously inflated: roughly 5,000 users shared or commented on the video, but only about one third of those accounts were Israeli, despite the video being in Hebrew and focused on domestic politics.
Presence beyond X
Researchers say the influence attempt is not limited to X. Analysis of Instagram activity indicates that the same suspicious accounts originally created to support regime change in Iran are now amplifying posts supporting Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud party.
Official response
Noam Sohlberg, president of the Central Elections Committee of Israel, on October 21, 2026, ordered Benjamin Netanyahu and other involved parties to respond to the allegations. Haaretz contacted the actors mentioned in the filing; some did not reply, while others denied influencing the Israeli election.
Why it matters
The findings indicate that several hundred accounts previously used in foreign-focused influence operations are now part of an active domestic political campaign. Artificially amplified content and AI-driven agents raise the risk of distorting voters’ information environment and the public debate in the crucial weeks before an election.
(Opening photo credit in the original reporting: ANGELA WEISS / AFP.)
