Irish military intelligence believe pro-Israeli bot networks have been spreading online disinformation about the presence of Irish troops in south Lebanon with the aim of securing the withdrawal of peacekeepers from the region.
This disinformation has included false claims on social media that Irish troops are sympathetic to Hizbullah and have purposely failed to enforce Unifil’s mandate to disarm the militant group.
In some cases, these suspected bot networks have encouraged direct attacks on Irish outposts while accusing peacekeepers, and Irish people in general, of holding anti-Israeli or anti-Semitic views.
An increase in the spread of disinformation concerning Irish troops in Lebanon was noted by J2, the Defence Forces intelligence bureau, and other branches of the Defence Forces at the start of October when the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) invaded the country, security sources said.
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Since then, Unifil bases have been struck a number of times by both the IDF and Hizbullah. Most incidents have been attributed to Israel, including seven which Unifil says were deliberate attacks.
Military experts have been unable to tie the online disinformation campaign directly to Israel. But sources noted it mirrors similar campaigns carried out by the Israeli government, including an operation launched last year that used sophisticated bot networks to target US legislators and shore up support for Israel’s invasion of Gaza.
These bot accounts generate posts using artificial intelligence and are almost indistinguishable from genuine social media users. They are often programmed to comment under news articles or social media posts which are receiving a large amount of public attention.
The main purpose of the current bot campaign seems to be undermining international support for Unifil, particularly in countries that contribute troops to the mission.
Many of the messages emphasise, and in some cases exaggerate, the dangers faced by Irish troops or call for them to be directly targeted by the IDF.
A particular concern for Irish military management is the impact this is having on family members back in Ireland. It is understood a number of family members have contacted the Defence Forces in a distressed state after seeing information online that turned out to be false.
“The idea is to build a groundswell of opinion to persuade governments to withdraw their troops,” a source said.
Other Unifil troop-contributing countries have been targeted with disinformation in similar ways, including the spread of unsupported claims that Hizbullah militants have paid Unifil personnel for the use of their positions to fire on the IDF.
The Defence Forces has been limited in its ability to counter the threat, aside from issuing regular official updates on the situation in south Lebanon.
In some cases, it has disabled comments under social media posts concerning Ireland’s Unifil mission to prevent them being swarmed by suspected bots.
A Defence Forces spokesman declined to comment on the matter except to state that its official social media accounts and family liaison network “are the accurate source of information for families and media outlets”.
[ Free ‘family reunion flights’ for overseas peacekeepers serving in LebanonOpens in new window ]
He said Defence Forces headquarters is “in constant contact with Irish personnel deployed in all mission areas overseas, including Unifil, through secure communication means”.
The activities of these suspected bot networks has been bolstered by many posts from genuine accounts.
Last month, former White House adviser Matthew Brodsky tweeted that “Israel should carpet bomb the Irish area and then drop napalm over it”.
In another post, he said: “I hope everyone of those POS Irishmen are blasted to bits.” He has since resigned from his role as an adviser to a Republican candidate for congress.
Unifil has long been a target of disinformation. In previous years, much of this has come from Hizbullah or its affiliated groups, including claims that Unifil troops act as spies for Israel.
The result was a significant deterioration in the relationship between Unifil and local communities.
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