Companies from Iran, China, and Israel have deployed autonomous AI agents built on Chinese open-source models like DeepSeek to create fake social media accounts and coordinate political messaging at scale, with minimal human oversight.
Iranian, Chinese, and Israeli companies have conducted unprecedented influence campaigns using artificial intelligence, leveraging Chinese open-source models including DeepSeek to create autonomous agents that handle all stages from fake account creation to message coordination with minimal human involvement.
These AI agents created networks of fake accounts on Instagram, Facebook, X, and TikTok, posting political content to sway public opinion. The Iranian campaign drew the most concern.
Iranian agents posed as ordinary Americans in major cities, tagged journalists and politicians, spread anti-Republican memes, and attracted about 80,000 followers in the first half of 2026.
One Israeli campaign was run by IntelEye, a firm founded by former NSO Group employees, which used DeepSeek to manage thousands of accounts publishing both pro- and anti-Netanyahu content ahead of Israeli elections in October. IntelEye described the operation as "defensive research."
The deployment of open-source Chinese AI models for automated influence operations marks a new escalation in information warfare, raising urgent questions about accountability and regulation.
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