- Lebanese researchers monitored the behaviour of Israeli bots on social media since October 7, noticing a surge in pro-Israeli comments despite initial pro-Palestinian dominance.
- Automated bots, not human entities, flooded social media, aiming to sow doubt and confusion about the pro-Palestinian narrative.
As Israel’s barbarism in Gaza continues, Lebanese researchers Ralph Baydoun and Michel Semaan from InflueAnswers, a research and strategic communications firm, began monitoring the behaviour of what appeared to be “Israeli” bots on social media since October 7.
Initially, Baydoun and Semaan observed that pro-Palestinian accounts dominated the social media space. However, they soon noticed a significant increase in pro-Israeli comments.
“The idea is that if a [pro-Palestinian] activist posts something, within five, ten, or twenty minutes, or even a day, a significant number of [comments on their post] are now pro-Israeli,” Semaan said. “Almost every tweet is essentially bombarded and swarmed by many accounts, all of whom follow very similar patterns and seem almost human.” However, these entities are not human; they are automated bots.
A study conducted by a United States cybersecurity company Imperva found that by the conclusion of 2023, almost half of all internet traffic consisted of bots
Baydoun noted that the primary objective of the pro-Israeli bots they identified is to instill doubt and confusion regarding the pro-Palestinian narrative, rather than to gain trust from social media users.
Large-scale disinformation campaigns employ bot armies—comprising thousands to millions of malicious bots—to influence public opinion.
Despite the proliferation of AI bots, the veracity of images circulated online hailing from the Gaza Strip remains unassailable.
Notably, there has been an exponential growth in support for the Palestinian cause. According to a recent poll conducted by Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) and the Council for Arab-British Understanding (CAABU), 70% of British people support an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, increasing pressure on the government to take a stronger stance against Israel.
As bots evolve, distinguishing between bot-generated and human-generated content becomes increasingly challenging.
“The capacity of AI to construct these extensive bot networks…..profoundly undermines authentic communication, as well as freedom of expression, given their capability to overpower human voices,” remarked Jillian York, Director for International Freedom of Expression at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an international non-profit organisation focusing on digital rights.
