Exposed: An Iranian Network Faked Profiles of Rabbis on the Networks

Sensational disclosure of the Fake Reporter research project: Today (Tuesday), the project reveals foreign accounts with Iranian markings, which fakes dozens of accounts on all platforms (WhatsApp, X Twitter, Telegram, Facebook, Tiktok and Instagram as well as on dating sites), the network has activated dozens of fictitious and crude profiles impersonating celebrities in Israeli society, including seven rabbis. The various accounts circulated messages about controversial issues such as the LGBT community, as well as allegations of rigging the elections in an account belonging to Yair Netanyahu.

The rabbis they impersonated are well-known rabbis who have an influence on the public: Rabbi Tzvi Kostiner, Rabbi Reuven Elbaz, Rabbi Aharon Biton, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, Rabbi Shlomo Amar, Rabbi Avigdor Nebenzahl and Rabbi Eliyahu Maksomov. The number of followers / friends of the fake accounts ranges from hundreds to thousands. For example, the fake Facebook profile of Rabbi Reuven Elbaz has about 5,000 friends, and the fictitious YouTube account of Rabbi Shlomo Amar has about 100 subscribers. All these profiles on the many networks still exist, and the videos in which the "rabbis" are heard speaking against LGBT people are still there.

In a detailed study: "Rabbi Shlomo Amar's YouTube channel, which also still exists, stands out in particular, as it includes falsification of audio clips, recordings of a Hebrew-speaking impersonator attacking LGBTQ people in his speeches and calling for the denial of women's rights, including the right to vote. It is true that the voice of the impersonator does not sound exactly like Rabbi Amar's voice, and pronunciation mistakes can be detected, but among a public without understanding of the media without time or the ability to consume the information in a critical way, the impression can be created as if these are things the rabbi said.

This is how these profiles create an impact on Israeli society through the use of opinion leaders, to spread hateful content, incite and deepen the social divide around controversial issues.