WASHINGTON (Diya TV) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused operators in Pakistan of running sophisticated bot farms and fake social media campaigns aimed at weakening American support for Israel and damaging the long-standing U.S.-Israel alliance.
In an interview with 60 Minutes, Mr. Netanyahu said coordinated online networks were creating fake American identities to influence public opinion on social media platforms such as X and Facebook.
“We have several countries that basically manipulated social media with bot farms, fake addresses to break the American sympathy for Israel and to break the American-Israeli alliance because they think it’s in their interest,” Mr. Netanyahu said.
He described messages that appeared to come from ordinary Americans but were allegedly linked to operators in Pakistan.“It’s like you hear a text message, ‘I am a red-blooded Texan, I always supported Israel, but I can’t stand what they are doing,’ and turning against Israel, then you trace the address to some basement in Pakistan,” he said.
The remarks have renewed attention on the growing use of fake social media accounts, AI-generated content, and coordinated influence campaigns linked to Pakistan-based operators.
Governments and technology companies have increasingly warned that organized networks use bots and fake personas to shape political discussions online. Analysts say such campaigns often target sensitive global conflicts and elections.
The issue gained more attention earlier this year when X executive Nikita Bier revealed that X had dismantled a network allegedly operated from Pakistan. According to Mr. Bier, the accounts spread AI-generated war videos and misleading content. He said many of the accounts were hacked before operators changed their usernames to “Iran War Monitor” and similar titles.
“Last night, we found a guy in Pakistan who was managing 31 accounts posting AI war videos,” Mr. Bier said in a public statement. “All were hacked, and the usernames were changed on Feb. 27 to ‘Iran War Monitor’ or some derivative.”He added that X had improved its ability to identify and remove coordinated disinformation campaigns.
Experts say modern misinformation campaigns now rely heavily on artificial intelligence. AI tools can create realistic videos, fake images, and automated posts within minutes. These tactics make online manipulation harder to detect. Many campaigns combine automated bots with human-managed accounts to increase credibility and avoid platform restrictions.
A recent investigation by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism highlighted the financial side of such operations. The report said a man in Pakistan earned thousands of pounds through Facebook pages that published inflammatory and divisive videos targeting audiences in the United Kingdom. The content reportedly focused on British political figures, including Prime Minister Keir Starmer and London Mayor Sadiq Khan. The videos generated engagement and advertising revenue through Meta’s monetization systems.
India has also raised repeated concerns about misinformation campaigns linked to Pakistan. Ahead of last year’s conflict between India and Pakistan, Indian authorities blocked several Pakistan-based social media accounts accused of spreading false information and inflammatory content. Officials said many of those accounts remain restricted in India. However, authorities claim new bot networks and fake profiles continue to emerge.
Earlier this week, India’s fact-checking unit and the foreign ministry reportedly flagged a Pakistan-linked account that used an AI-generated video to spread false claims related to India’s counterterror operation conducted last year in Pakistan. Indian officials have warned that AI-generated propaganda and coordinated online campaigns could increase tensions between the two neighboring countries.
The allegations have increased pressure on major social media companies to strengthen their systems against misinformation and coordinated influence operations.
Platforms such as X, Meta, and others continue to invest in AI detection tools and moderation teams. Still, experts say fake accounts evolve quickly and often stay ahead of enforcement efforts. Pakistan has not publicly commented on the specific allegations made by Mr. Netanyahu or the reports involving Pakistan-linked online networks.
