Israeli firm intervenes in 30 election campaigns in different countries

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A group of Israeli contractors is responsible for manipulating more than 30 elections around the world through hacking, sabotage and the spread of fakes, JPost writes, citing The Guardian.

The article reports that a team of Israeli specialists worked under security expert Tal Khanan, a 50-year-old former special forces officer and CEO of Demonan International, to manipulate election results in dozens of countries over the past two decades.

The investigation revealed that the so-called “Team Jorge” offers its services to those who want to interfere in elections around the world, as well as corporate clients.

One of the key components of the team's efforts to change the election results is social media, specifically Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Telegram, Gmail, Instagram, and YouTube.

Thousands of fake accounts with digital history are created for this purpose, some of them even have credit cards, e-wallets and Amazon accounts. These bots imitate human behavior on social networks using artificial intelligence and spread the necessary disinformation or propaganda at an extraordinary speed.

According to the investigation, software known as Advanced Impact Media Solutions (AIMS) monitors more than 30,000 fake profiles on social media.

The revelation, published by The Guardian on Wednesday, is the result of an undercover investigation by a group of journalists from 30 different media outlets, including Le Monde, Der Spiegel and El País.

During the investigation, Hanan, or “Jorge”, spoke to undercover reporters from Haaretz, The Marker, and Radio France, and informed them that access to the AIMS software had been sold to “unnamed intelligence agencies, political parties, and corporate clients.” He added that the services are used in Africa, South and Central America, the United States and Europe.

According to the investigation, much of the team's work in the arena of political manipulation is centered around disrupting or sabotaging election campaigns.

Founded in 1999, Demoman International claims to be “a leading provider of high-level security, intelligence and law enforcement services” according to their website. They also state that they have been involved in advising government agencies around the world, including Israel, the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Southeast Asia.

Because Demomam International is authorized by the website Ministry of Defense of Israel as the official strategic intelligence company, the company's founder and CEO Tal Khanan is a respected and internationally recognized expert in combat, counter-terrorism and intelligence.

Although it is not clear if other members of Demomam are involved International at Team Jorge, founder and CEO of an international security company, seems to operate in two opposing fields — security and security breach.

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