Investigation reveals an online campaign promoting Israeli intervention in Syria and fueling internal tensions

An investigation conducted by the "Arabi Post" website revealed an organized campaign led by Israeli accounts and others linked to loyalists of the regime of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on the X platform, with the aim of promoting Israeli allegations about what it calls the "necessity of protecting minorities" to justify Israel's intervention in Syria.

The analysis , published Saturday, was conducted on about 20,000 tweets, and confirmed the pumping of large amounts of misleading information to inflame internal tensions, as well as the systematic manipulation of information, by inflating claims about the existence of tensions between the sects, and promoting the idea that "minorities need Israeli protection."

The analysis showed that some of the accounts are working to reproduce a narrative that justifies foreign interventions or supports separatist projects, and their tweets also include claims that Syria was in a better situation during Assad’s rule.

Three types

The analysis prepared by the journalist at "Arabi Post" Murad Al-Quwatli also showed that the accounts participating in the campaign are divided into three types: Israeli accounts, others loyal to the ousted Assad regime, or unknown accounts.

He explained that some of the Israeli accounts are known, and others are anonymous, and that accounts from Israeli electronic committees and accounts with Arab names contribute to spreading their content.

As for the accounts loyal to the ousted regime, some of them are old, but they became active after the fall of Assad last December, in addition to hundreds of other accounts that were created recently since the beginning of this year until March 4, and they publish misleading and false news with the aim of incitement.

The investigation stated that the anonymous accounts support Israeli allegations about the "persecution of minorities" in Syria, and the need for it to protect them, while some of them claim that their identity is Iraqi or Kurdish.

The anonymous accounts act as a link, reposting content from Israeli and pro-Assad accounts, which helps amplify specific tweets and promote hashtags, with the aim of spreading these narratives to a wider audience on the X platform, according to the investigation.

deliberate exaggeration

The investigation indicated that some accounts play a pivotal role in spreading content and receive intense interactions over short periods, indicating the role of fake or automated accounts ( bots ) in promoting the spread of targeted messages.

The investigation revealed that this amplification does not occur randomly, but rather depends on a specific strategy aimed at manipulating public debate and delivering certain messages to a wider segment of users, creating a false impression of widespread support for the ideas promoted by the tweets.

The investigation indicated that some of the accounts were created weeks ago, but their rate of publication today may exceed 200 tweets per day, which is considered suspicious activity that suggests that they are automated accounts for specific purposes.

Threat to civil peace

Investigative journalist Murad al-Quwatli, who prepared the investigation, told Al Jazeera Net that “Syria is facing a huge digital battle, which has a very dangerous impact on peaceful coexistence and civil peace” at the critical stage the country is going through.

He explained that such campaigns may have an impact on the security situation, especially since they are one of the biggest risks facing Syria, "given that they are based on organized work to spread sectarian mobilization among Syrians," especially since their misleading information spreads quickly without oversight.

He stressed that the recipient should look rationally and skeptically at the content on social media sites, and not interact with posts containing misleading information, because that contributes to the spread of false news that harms people.

Al-Quwatli added that future investigations should look into who is behind such campaigns, who funds them, what their goals are, and why they spread quickly during times of crisis, so that people can see the extent of the misleading electronic campaigns they may be exposed to.

Israeli intervention

Since the fall of the Assad regime, the Israeli army has begun an incursion into southern Syria, in addition to launching violent raids on several military sites, under the pretext that weapons have not reached the new administration.

Recently, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened military action to “protect the Druze” in Syria.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar also said that thinking about a single Syrian state with effective control and sovereignty over all its area is unrealistic, and he considered that the logic is to seek self-rule for minorities in Syria, perhaps with a federal rule.

The Wall Street Journal revealed that Israel intends to spend one billion dollars in an attempt to turn the Druze in Syria against the new administration.