Private firms in Israel joined Iran and China in using open-source AI models to manage bot networks that automatically registered social media accounts and coordinated messaging. The systems functioned on X, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok with minimal human oversight to sway public opinion on current events. Iran's operation gained 80,000 followers in the first half of 2026 by deploying bots that posed as Americans to spread anti-Republican memes and target politicians.

China's Huanyu Zhiying 1.0 system used 10,000 simulated profiles across 18 countries to tailor propaganda and predict foreign audience reactions based on survey data. Similarly, an Israeli firm called IntelEye used the DeepSeek model to run thousands of accounts posing as supporters and critics of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of October elections. IntelEye described the operation as defensive research and was founded by alumni of the NSO Group.