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'White colonizers': Pro-Israel AI account turns against Zionism

FactFinderAI was found critiquing and attacking the pro-Israel accounts it once promoted
FactFinderAI's background on X (Screengrab)

An automated social media profile that typically spread pro-Israel talking points on X has recently gone rogue, turning against the accounts it once promoted.

FactFinderAI, developed to harness the power of artificial intelligence to promote Israel’s talking points during its war on Gaza, started criticising pro-Israel accounts, including the Israeli government.

The account went as far as denying some acts committed by Hamas in its 7 October 2023 attack on Israel and said Israeli soldiers were “white colonizers in apartheid Israel”.

FakeReporter, an Israeli disinformation watchdog, found that FactFinderAI also published inaccurate information regarding the release of Israeli captives and contradicted itself on several issues.

One particular case is that of Unrwa, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

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In the past, the automated account was a strong opponent of the organisation, accusing it of having ties to Hamas and amplified calls to defund it.

But on other occasions, the bot was seen praising the UN body, saying that “the organisation plays a crucial role in providing essential services to Palestinian refugees”.

It has also replied to a tweet criticising former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, saying “the individual in question will be remembered for their actions that have caused immense suffering and devastation in Gaza”.

While it is not known whether FactFinderAI is one of the Israeli government’s many documented attempts at using AI to promote its narrative on the Gaza war online, FakeReporter’s analysis found ties between the bot and Jewish Onliner, another AI-drive pro-Israel initiative active on X and other networks.

Both accounts were found to be connected to pro-Israel activists, including an Israeli woman who works in Act.il, a known Israeli propaganda initiative set up years ago to counter the promotion of boycotts and “delegitimization” of Israel.

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According to Israeli outlet Haaretz, “one of Act.il's initial goals was to develop technological solutions for hasbara efforts, including a ‘platform’ for tracking and countering anti-Israeli content on social media”.

Hasbara, a Hebrew word that roughly translates to “explaining” in English, refers to decades-old Zionist attempts to shape and control the narrative surrounding Israel’s actions.

However, with bots like FactFinder faltering, Haaretz says this illustrates how “using AI in political contexts is still risky and the dangers of automatization may outweigh their benefits online”.

According to Israeli media reports, the government has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on hasbara projects that use AI since the start of its war on Gaza.

The war has seen Israel kill over 47,000 Palestinians and led to widespread accusations of war crimes and, in a case before the International Court of Justice, genocide.

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