September 21, 2026, (Inside AI) — Iran, China, and private groups in Israel have deployed artificial intelligence in a novel manner over recent months, creating the first known autonomous influence campaigns on social media. These operations combined Chinese open-source AI models with autonomous agents to amplify political messaging at a speed and scale previously unattainable without significant human intervention, according to U.S. officials and security researchers with direct knowledge of the efforts.
The campaigns have heightened concerns among U.S. intelligence agencies, major technology firms, and independent security experts about the rapid evolution of AI-enabled information warfare. The operations were first reported by an intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
At the core of these campaigns is a two-step process. First, operators downloaded powerful open-source AI models, primarily from Chinese developers, which are freely available for modification. They then used these models to create AI agents, software bots capable of operating independently to complete tasks. Once hundreds of these agents were activated, they autonomously opened networks of fake accounts on platforms including Instagram, Facebook, X, and TikTok. The agents then populated these accounts with false posts about politics and current events, aiming to sway opinions and inflame existing divisions.
In most cases, the safety protocols designed to prevent AI models from creating fake accounts or manipulating online discussions were deliberately disabled by the operators, according to U.S. officials who were not authorized to speak publicly. This deliberate circumvention allowed the agents to operate without the typical guardrails that major AI developers have implemented.
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The Iranian state-backed campaign was particularly alarming to officials and researchers. It targeted U.S. audiences, with agent-generated accounts posing as ordinary Americans residing in major cities. These accounts tagged journalists and politicians in comments that spread popular memes and anti-Republican Party views. Nearly 80,000 people followed the AI-created accounts, which were active during the first half of the year.
Two separate agentic campaigns were traced to private companies in Israel. One was generated over the summer by IntelEye, a Tel Aviv-based firm, according to two people with knowledge of the campaign. Maor Sellek, an IntelEye co-founder, said it was an experiment to test the safety of AI models. "IntelEye does not operate influence campaigns," Sellek said.
The Chinese campaigns, also state-backed, employed similar tactics but with different targets and messaging, according to the officials and researchers. They did not provide specific details on the scale or reach of the Chinese operations.
These campaigns represent a significant escalation in the use of AI for influence operations. Unlike previous efforts that relied on human operators to manage fake accounts and create content, the new agentic approach allows for minimal human interaction. This enables a small team to control hundreds or thousands of accounts simultaneously, adapting messaging in real time based on engagement.
The development has prompted U.S. intelligence and tech companies to intensify monitoring and develop countermeasures. However, the use of open-source models complicates attribution and regulation, as these models can be downloaded and modified by anyone, anywhere.
The campaigns were detected through a combination of AI-driven anomaly detection and human analysis, according to security researchers. Platforms have since removed many of the fake accounts, but the underlying techniques are expected to proliferate.
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As AI models become more capable and accessible, the barrier to entry for such operations will continue to drop. This raises urgent questions about the future of online discourse and the ability of platforms and governments to safeguard against manipulation. The lack of clear international norms for AI in warfare and influence campaigns further exacerbates the challenge.
Officials and researchers emphasize that this is not a hypothetical threat but an active one. The success of these campaigns in evading detection for months underscores the need for more robust defenses and international cooperation. Without such measures, the integrity of democratic processes and public discourse remains vulnerable to AI-powered manipulation.
