AMMAN — Following
an in-depth investigation, The Guardian revealed on Wednesday that a team of
Israeli contractors has manipulated over 30 global elections through disinformation,
hacking, and sabotage.
اضافة اعلان
In a report, the news
outlet indicated that Israeli security expert Tal Hanan, is at the helm of a
team of Israeli operatives that have been maneuvering election outcomes in
dozens of countries over the last 20 years.
Hanan, 50, is a former
special forces operative and CEO of Demomam International.
Journalists from 30 global
media outlets, including Le Monde, Der Spiegel, and El País, contributed to the
investigation of the group, which goes by the code name “Team Jorge”, according
to news outlets.
Hanan, code name
“Jorge”, told undercover reporters from three outlets — Haaretz, The Marker,
and Radio France — that the team has offered its services to intelligence
agencies, political parties, and private companies across the world, from
Africa to the US, Europe, and South America.
How it is doneWhen the team is
contacted by a client wishing to meddle in election results, it offers (for a
price) access to its Advanced Impact Media Solutions (AIMS) software, a
meticulously constructed web of over 30,000 fake social media profiles.
Hanan boasted that Team Jorge has completed "33 presidential-level campaigns, 27 of which were successful"
Through unassuming
profiles on Twitter and other platforms, the team’s clients can rapidly
disseminate disinformation and propaganda.
For example, behind
one Twitter profile,
@Canaelan — which was shown to be connected to several
fake social media profiles — is a bot controlled by Team Jorge’s Israel-based software.
Using AI, thousands of
bots like @Canaelan across Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Telegram, Gmail,
Instagram, and YouTube, all with unique and believable backstories and human-like
behaviors, can spread false information quickly and easily.
The account @Canaelan,
for example, has 58 followers and features a photo of a “mild-mannered” man.
The bot often shares links to credible news outlets such as AP and the BBC.
It also shares fake
news from sources designed by Team Jorge through a blogging system that creates
false websites for publishing disinformation.
UndercoverThree undercover journalists,
posing as clients from an African country looking to delay an election, began a
series of meetings with the team, which they secretly recorded.
In his sales pitch, Hanan
boasted that Team Jorge has completed "33 presidential-level campaigns, 27
of which were successful", The Guardian report stated. And while Team
Jorge, according to its leader, refuses to meddle directly in US politics, it
does claim involvement in two unspecified “major projects” in the North
American nation.
Using AI, thousands of bots… all with unique and believable backstories and human-like behaviors, can spread false information quickly and easily.
During the meetings,
the reporters soon discovered that Hanan and his operatives not only operate the
fine-tuned AIMS mechanism — they also hack personal user accounts to learn
about client’s political rivals, plant disinformation in credible news outlets,
and sabotage campaigns by meddling in politician’s personal affairs.
And Demoman
International — ironically, a security company — appears to be the smokescreen
for their operation.
The Israeli company
states that it has served as a consultant for government agencies around the
world, including in Israel, North and South America, Europe, Africa, and
Southeast Asia.
Demomam International also
bears the stamp of approval of the Israel Defense Ministry, which lists it as a
strategic intelligence company on its official website.
Meanwhile, Hanan is
known globally as an expert on urban warfare, counterterrorism, and
intelligence.
When questioned by The
Guardian, he did not answer the questions posed to him, but stated that he
denied “any wrongdoings".
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