Sophisticated Fake Accounts Enhance Hamas' Social Media Campaign, Cybersecurity Firm Reveals

An analysis by Israel-based cybersecurity company Cyabra has exposed the use of sophisticated fake accounts in Hamas' social media campaign following their recent attacks on Israel.

Cyabra's enterprise platform, powered by semi-supervised machine learning and AI, scoured social media sites including Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and TikTok to identify fake accounts and analyze their activity.

Out of over 162,000 profiles involved in discussions about Hamas' attacks, Cyabra discovered that a staggering 25% - equivalent to over 40,000 profiles - were fake.

These deceptive profiles generated more than 312,000 pro-Hamas posts and comments, amassing 371,000 engagements and a staggering 531 million views.

Rafi Mendelsohn, VP of Marketing at Cyabra, expressed his astonishment at the high number of fake accounts and their level of sophistication and organization.

The analysis also unveiled a compelling insight into the planning that went into these fake accounts. Some profiles, which had remained inactive for a long period, suddenly became highly active by posting hundreds of times within the first two days of the conflict.

Mendelsohn emphasized that the emergence of specific narratives, in addition to the large number of fake accounts, indicates an operation of a highly funded and resourced state-like actor.

Cyabra highlighted three prevailing narratives in the fake profiles' pro-Hamas postings. These narratives revolved around Hamas' ability to free imprisoned terrorists through hostage exchanges, justifying the attacks based on actions at Al-Aqsa mosque, and reassuring Western audiences that hostages would be treated well.

The platform's AI-powered search engine enables users to monitor conversations across major social media platforms, benefiting agencies, security analysts, and large corporations.

Additionally, Cyabra has launched Botbusters.ai, a free tool that allows social media users to identify fake profiles and AI-generated content by submitting a profile URL for analysis.

As Hamas intensifies its social media campaign, Cyabra urges caution when consuming online content, especially during emotive times, emphasizing the importance of critically analyzing information.