According to a worldwide investigation by several media, a secret company from Israel is said to have manipulated dozens of elections for money. Among other things, the team is said to have operated an “army” of internet bots in order to spread disinformation in a targeted manner.
According to investigative reporters, an Israeli company has manipulated elections worldwide for money. According to international research, in which “Spiegel”, “Zeit” and ZDF were also involved, the so-called “Team Jorge” has customers from business and politics.
According to research by the Forbidden Stories investigative editorial team, the former military and agents use fake news and hacking methods to achieve their goals. The reports are based on six hours of secretly recorded conversations in which company boss Tal Hanan and his team present their service.
International research: Israeli company is said to have manipulated at least 33 election campaigns
The team has so far interfered in 33 national election campaigns and votes, including in Kenya and Nigeria, it said. Tal Hanan can be heard saying in the recording that 27 of the missions were successful. For manipulation on social media, the team has developed its own platform called Aims, which can be used to create verified user accounts. However, not all claims could be independently verified, it said.
According to the reporters, the company is based in the Israeli city of Modiin, which is about halfway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The team controls an “army” of more than 30,000 bots, the British “Guardian” reported on Wednesday. These are profiles on social media that are not backed by real people. These are extremely cleverly designed and are simultaneously represented on various platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. According to the team, they are also able to hack Telegram and Gmail. With the help of smear campaigns and stolen information, public opinion is specifically influenced.
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Hanan charges between $400,000 and $600,000 a month for his services. The Israeli businessman reportedly denied any wrongdoing. The German Press Agency in Tel Aviv has also requested a reaction.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
