China, Iran, Israeli groups weaponize AI for first-of-their-kind social media influence campaigns

An investigation by The New York Times revealed that state-backed groups from China and Iran, along with two private Israeli firms, utilized artificial intelligence to conduct large-scale social media influence campaigns. These entities deployed thousands of AI-powered fake accounts on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, X/Twitter, and TikTok. US officials noted this marked one of the first times Chinese open-source AI models were used to manage every stage of such campaigns, from account creation to message coordination. The Israeli firm IntelEye, founded by former NSO Group employees, reportedly operated around 1,000 AI-powered fake accounts to influence political discourse around Israeli elections, using the Chinese DeepSeek model. IntelEye co-founder Maor Sellek stated, "IntelEye does not operate influence campaigns," asserting their work was for "defensive research and testing" to identify AI system vulnerabilities. Meta reported removing most of these AI-powered agents through its detection systems.