Iran, China, and Israeli firms use open-source AI agents to run large-scale influence campaigns

中国伊朗利用开源AI展开大规模影响力行动

US officials and researchers say Iran, China, and Israeli private firms are using Chinese open-source models like DeepSeek to power AI agents that autonomously create and run fake account networks on Instagram, Facebook, X, and TikTok. The agents post, comment, and tag journalists and politicians with little human input. Iran's campaign impersonated ordinary Americans and drew nearly 80,000 followers. Israeli firm IntelEye claimed it was a security test but bought 10,000 accounts and activated about 1,000. Meta confirmed it has seen 'technically significant advances' in such AI use and removed most of the fake accounts. The post does not disclose details on the Chinese operation's specific targets or content.

Why it matters: NYT exclusive with concrete numbers and named actors — the first well-sourced account of open-source LLMs weaponized for autonomous influence ops. HKR all hit: vivid, dense with new facts, resonant for safety pros. Not higher because only Meta has confirmed so far, no independ...