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During the protests in Bangkok, participants expressed their opposition to the IMF and World Bank's austerity demands, calling for reform of financial institutions and debt reduction, arguing that spending cut measures exacerbate poverty in developing countries. #FMI #manifestation #dettepublique (translated)

Kultur wrote that the Frenchman Hugo Deck had won the Diagonale des Fous in Réunion in 22 hours 54 minutes 19 seconds, after covering 175 km and climbing 10,150 m of positive elevation. He specified that participants had up to 66 hours to complete the race. https://t.co/XOhRshMzJg #DiagonaleDesFous #TrailRunning #HugoDeck (translated)

𝗜𝗿𝗮𝗻’𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘀 – 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗮 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲𝗹’𝘀 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗲 Ahead of Israel’s 27 October election, hundreds of social-media accounts have been presenting themselves as ordinary Israelis while injecting political messages into genuine domestic conversations. They appear as women, reservists, secular voters, religious activists and frustrated citizens. Some attack Benjamin Netanyahu, others have previously promoted narratives associated with the Israeli right, while many focus less on parties than on a broader message: Israel is divided, its institutions cannot be trusted and its political system is approaching crisis. A detailed investigation by the OSINT company Golden Owl has mapped this activity as a substantial Iran-linked influence network. Its October analysis identified at least 694 accounts, with 445 attributed at high or medium-high confidence to the operation. Between 11 August and 11 October, the network generated at least 4.7 million views and more than 160,000 interactions. The researchers found no evidence that these accounts were simply a group of independent Iranian commentators expressing political opinions. Their assessment rests instead on coordinated behaviour, false identities, account histories, copied content, language patterns and platform metadata linking significant parts of the infrastructure to Iran. 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝟯𝟱 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘀 The investigation developed in two stages. Golden Owl’s first report, published in September, identified an operational core of 35 accounts: 32 personas presenting themselves as Israelis and three Hebrew-language media-style channels. During the 30-day period measured in that study, active accounts generated 947,322 impressions and more than 9,000 interactions. The October investigation expanded the dataset dramatically. Researchers analysed more than 560,000 data points, including tens of thousands of accounts, relationships between them and more than a quarter of a million posts. The wider network showed repeated patterns of identical texts, synchronised activity and accounts created in batches. The numbers therefore describe not a sudden explosion from 35 to hundreds of accounts, but the gradual exposure of a much larger infrastructure surrounding the original core. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘀 Some of the strongest evidence comes from the histories of individual personas. One account had spent years posting exclusively in Persian under the handle “mardeankabooti” before reappearing in August 2026 as an apparently Israeli user called “Alon Strauss”, complete with an Israeli flag and Hebrew political messaging. Other personas presented themselves as Israeli professionals, activists or ordinary citizens while X transparency information showed connections through the Iranian version of the Android application or locations inconsistent with their claimed identities. The account “Yaara Shalev” presented itself as an Israeli woman concerned with democracy and peace. Investigators found that photographs used to construct the identity were inconsistent, including borrowed and apparently AI-generated imagery. A small Hebrew-language channel called KigVoice, previously identified in Israeli government reporting as part of an Iranian influence environment, repeatedly published material that later appeared on the much more visible Yaara account. In one sample, 14 of 40 KigVoice posts subsequently resurfaced as captions or opening lines in Yaara’s content. Another persona, “Miriam Kozak”, had built an audience of more than 18,000 followers and had already been exposed as fictitious by Israeli researchers in 2024. Its political messaging changed substantially over time, moving between narratives associated with different sides of Israeli politics. That inconsistency is important: the apparent purpose was not necessarily to build a stable ideological following, but to enter whichever political argument offered the greatest opportunity to intensify division. 𝗔𝗜, 𝗰𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀 The Iran attribution is based on more than political content. Researchers identified accounts using the Iranian version of the X Android application, repeated connections to previously identified Iranian influence assets, copied posts appearing across supposedly independent personas within minutes, and Hebrew containing unusual grammatical errors or Persian and Arabic keyboard artefacts. Generative AI also appears to have become part of the production process. Some accounts inadvertently published fragments resembling chatbot instructions, while other posts displayed patterns consistent with machine-generated Hebrew. AI-generated videos and synthetic profile imagery further reduced the cost of maintaining large numbers of apparently distinct personalities. However, none of these indicators was treated as proof on its own. Golden Owl explicitly excluded accounts where the evidence was insufficient and notes that VPNs, travel and platform location labels can create misleading signals. The attribution rests on multiple independent indicators converging across the network. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘆 The network repeatedly exploited issues that genuinely divide Israeli society: responsibility for the 7 October attacks, the war, the hostages, ultra-Orthodox military exemptions, economic pressure, emigration and confidence in state institutions. It also circulated misleading information about the election itself, including false voting dates, claims that voting had been postponed and posts suggesting online voting mechanisms that do not exist in Israel’s parliamentary election system. The pattern suggests a strategy broader than conventional electoral campaigning. Rather than consistently promoting one political faction, the network appears designed to weaken confidence in the government, military, democratic institutions and the electoral process itself. An influence operation does not need to persuade Israelis to support a particular candidate if it can convince different groups that defeat would prove fraud, betrayal or systemic failure. 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝘄𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗿𝘀 One of the network’s most effective characteristics is that it does not depend solely on its own followers. Fake personas enter comment sections and political discussions involving real Israeli journalists, politicians and ordinary users. Authentic Israelis then repost or interact with the material, sometimes carrying it far beyond the original account. Golden Owl does not classify those genuine users as participants in the operation. In most cases they appear to be unwitting amplifiers. But once a message passes from a fabricated Iranian-operated persona to an authentic Israeli account, its foreign origin becomes much harder for the next person to recognise. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟰𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬-𝗯𝗼𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗱 A much larger figure has also appeared in recent reporting. In the first two days after the October 2023 Hamas attack, social-media intelligence company Cyabra identified more than 40,000 fake profiles participating in online discussions across major platforms. Their content generated hundreds of thousands of interactions and had a potential reach estimated at 531 million profiles. Those numbers are important historical context, but they should not be merged with the current Golden Owl investigation. There is no public evidence demonstrating that all of those 2023 accounts and the 2026 Iran-linked election network belonged to one continuous command structure. The 531 million figure is also an estimate of potential exposure, not proof that 531 million people saw or believed the content. 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻? No confirmed individual operators have been publicly identified. Names such as Yaara Shalev, Miriam Kozak and Alon Strauss are personas, not verified identities of the people controlling the accounts. Golden Owl says its evidence supports an association with the Islamic Republic of Iran and with previously documented Iranian influence infrastructure, but it does not establish which Iranian institution, intelligence service, military organisation or contractor directs the network. That distinction is essential. Public OSINT supports attribution at the Iran-linked operational level. It does not currently justify naming individual Iranian officials as the people commanding this specific campaign. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗳𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼 The Israeli case illustrates a broader change in influence operations. The synthetic asset does not have to be a spectacular deepfake of a politician. It can be an apparently ordinary citizen who comments on politics, argues with neighbours, describes personal experiences and gradually becomes part of an authentic community. That can be more difficult to recognise because the propaganda does not arrive looking foreign. It arrives looking local. And when hundreds of fabricated citizens enter the same national conversation, they can manufacture the impression that political anger, despair or distrust is more spontaneous and more widely shared than it really is. 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀 Golden Owl — Exposing the Iranian Regime’s Influence Machinery Against Israeli Society https://web-dev-production-7a35.up.railway.app/resources/research/Exposing-the-Iranian-Regime-Influence-Machinery-Against-Israeli-Society Golden Owl Golden Owl — The Other Face of War: Iranian Regime–Linked Manipulation of Israel’s 2026 Election Debate https://web-dev-production-7a35.up.railway.app/resources/research/Iranian-Regime-Linked-Manipulation-of-Israel-2026-Election-Debate Golden Owl The Jerusalem Post — Iran-linked social-media accounts posing as Israelis to target election https://www.jpost.com/israel-election-2026/article-909863 The Jerusalem Post Ynet — Fake Israelis, real influence: Iran-linked network infiltrates Israel’s election debate https://www.ynetnews.com/tech-and-digital/article/syp119nqqzg ynetglobal Calcalist — Iranian influence network exposed ahead of Israel’s election https://www.calcalist.co.il/calcalistech/article/s1q0ifijzl calcalist Vesty / Ynet — Iranian fake-account network and October update https://www.vesty.co.il/main/article/rkwokjssgg vesty Israel Ministry for Diaspora Affairs — Iran’s active Hebrew-language influence campaign https://www.gov.il/BlobFolder/reports/israel-and-us-strikes-in-iran-daily-status_2_3_26/en/mashlat_Roaring_Lion_israel-and-us-strikes-in-iran-daily-status_2_3_26.pdf Government of Israel Israel Central Elections Committee — official 2026 election timetable https://www.gov.il/en/pages/time--table-26 Government of Israel Channel NewsAsia — historical Cyabra analysis of more than 40,000 fake profiles after 7 October 2023 https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/how-fake-news-israel-hamas-stokes-outrage-hatred-and-potential-violence-southeast-asian-tiktok-5603221 𝗞𝗲𝘆𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀 #DISINFORMED #Episode20 #Iran #Israel #IsraelElection2026 #IranianInfluence #IranianDisinformation #ElectionInterference #ForeignInterference #FIMI #Disinformation #InformationWarfare #InfluenceOperations #FakeAccounts #FakePersonas #SyntheticIdentity #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #AIPropaganda #SocialMediaManipulation #Astroturfing #NarrativeManipulation #PoliticalDisinformation #ElectionDisinformation #X #Twitter #Bots #BotNetwork #KigVoice #YaaraShalev #MiriamKozak #DigitalInfluence #InformationManipulation #ElectionIntegrity #GoldenOwl #OSINT #MediaManipulation #WRLD

Eric Larchevêque wrote that he had arrived at the meeting point, from where the participants were to be transported to the demonstration site. He indicated that the event was more exclusive than he had thought and that it was to involve fewer than 500 people. The departure was scheduled for 90 minutes later. #Événement #Démonstration #Participants (translated)

Micromania announced that some stores would exceptionally open at midnight on the night of November 4 to 5 for the launch of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The retailer indicated that a replica of the Nintendo 64 box would be given, while stocks last, to customers who pre-ordered the game at participating stores, including through an online order. The affected stores were located in Antibes, Bordeaux City Center, Lille-Béthune, Lyon Victor Hugo, Nice Médecin, Paris Beaugrenelle, Paris Caumartin, Paris Général Leclerc, Reims City Center, Rouen Gros Horloge, and Toulouse St Rome. #Zelda #Nintendo64 #MidnightOpening (translated)

The Diagonal of Fools 2026, a mythical ultra-trail of 180 kilometers through the technical trails of Reunion Island, attracts about 3,000 participants and features a new course with favorites like Tom Evans and Ruth Croft, marking the beginning of a week of intense competition. #DiagonaleDesFous #UltraTrail #LaRéunion (translated)

When there is violence, damage, there is intervention, we apply the proportionality of the action. Laurent Nuñez particularly emphasized that the current movement of high school students was "unprecedented" in terms of the number of affected institutions, the number of participants, but also "unprecedented because it quickly shifted into very serious violence," with physical assaults against police officers or gendarmes, as well as arson of schools. #GardeÀVue #MobilisationLycéenne #Justice (translated)

Since the beginning of the high school mobilization, 36 investigations by the IGPN have been opened, while a new day of demonstrations is taking place in France, gathering thousands of participants, including a majority of minors. #MobilisationLycéenne #Justice #ViolencesPolicières (translated)

Impact recommended watching a documentary about the genocide in Gaza, which was screened in France on October 12 and 13. Directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, the film reportedly received a 25-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival and a special jury prize, according to Impact. It would feature anonymous testimonies from 24 Israeli soldiers and intelligence members about the bombings in Gaza and their organization. According to Impact, one witness claimed that a strike was authorized even though it risked killing 500 civilians to eliminate a single person. The documentary would also address mass surveillance, the use of artificial intelligence to identify targets, and the validation of strikes despite anticipated civilian casualties. Impact noted that the testimonies were filmed at night on the rooftops of Tel Aviv while Gaza was only a few dozen kilometers away. Impact also reported that a military individual mentioned the Nazis, whom he regarded as the absolute evil, and questioned what he had become himself. The film aims, according to the author, to show how operations function through the accounts of people who participated in them. Finally, Impact wrote that Netanyahu called the documentary a "false narrative" and demanded an investigation as well as legal action against its participants. The author concluded that the dead should not become ordinary, reminding that the victims were children, parents, and families who had plans and a future. #Gaza #Documentaire #Genocide (translated)

Benjamin Netanyahu has called for an investigation into the participants of the documentary film NAZA, which accuses the Israeli army of intentionally killing civilians in Gaza, describing the project as a misleading narrative that defames Israel. #NAZA #Israël #GuerreGaza (translated)

Press Briefs reported that Ségolène Royal referred to Raphaël Glucksmann as an intern after his victory in the social-democratic primary. The media recalled that she stated to L’Obs at the end of September that he had attended a meeting of Nicolas Sarkozy and did not come from the left. According to Press Briefs, Glucksmann was surrounded by several figures from the outgoing majority, including Aurélien Rousseau, Marguerite Cazeneuve, Simon Bernard, and Sacha Houlié, and was presented by some as a "new Macron." The media also mentioned a campaign note revealed by Mediapart in May, which allegedly recommended targeting wealthy, educated, and older voters as a priority, rather than the 18-25 age group, the working classes, and residents of the suburbs. Press Briefs added that an anonymous executive from Place Publique confided to Mediapart in August that Glucksmann had requested to set the voting fee at 15 euros to restrict the electorate, fearing that too many people participating might lead to a loss. The primary reportedly gathered about 121,000 participants, nearly 14 times less than in 2017 and 22 times less than in 2011, according to the media's comparisons with the first rounds of previous socialist primaries. The media contrasted these figures with the LR primary of 2021, won by Valérie Pécresse with 60.95% of the votes among nearly 115,000 participants. She then obtained 4.78% in the 2022 presidential election. Glucksmann, on the other hand, received 66.17% of the votes in a vote counting approximately 121,000 participants, noted Press Briefs, which questioned the significance of this victory in view of the presidential election. #politique #France #primaires (translated)

Ilan Gabet wrote that La France insoumise claimed 10,000 participants at Jean-Luc Mélenchon's meeting in Clermont-Ferrand, which he presented as more attended than that of Gabriel Attal, to which 1,000 people had attended. https://t.co/MGc9DHYMM1 #France #politique #meeting (translated)