Pro-Palestine groups are using advanced AI deep fake technology to impersonate celebrities and spread political messages, the Israeli company Vetric found, according to N12 News on Monday.
Vetric analyzes public information to identify impersonations, fake news, and suspicious online activity. The company told N12 that the campaign marks a “dangerous escalation,” which is markedly different from individual anonymous bots.
It characterizes the campaign as “the cynical and sophisticated use of stolen identities of key cultural assets, such as fan pages of soccer stars from Europe’s top leagues [and] videos and edited photos of leading YouTubers and major influencers, to show that they support the Palestinians.”
Screenshots provided to N12 include deep fake photos of Jake Paul, footballer Erlin Haaland, and Jurgen Klopp, all next to flags of Palestine or messages of support for Gaza – all of which were created with artificial intelligence.
“The strategic rationale is clear. When a revered soccer star or popular singer expresses a stance, the fan’s critical thinking almost disappears,” Orr Katznelson, partner and COO at Vetric, told N12.
“The pro-Palestine networks take advantage of the deep emotional connection between the fan and the star to infuse extremist political messages, using prominent visual symbols, such as Palestinian flags and chants identified with Islam.”
Pro-Palestinians using deep fake AI to steal celebrities' identities
According to Vetric, the campaign builds credibility over time by creating or taking over existing profiles that appear trustworthy, the vast majority of which have a verified checkmark.
During the first stage of the campaign, the stars are shown participating in their regular activity, such as soccer training or performing on stage. Once the profile gains enough followers and credibility, the campaigners begin to mix in political content with daily posts.
Vetric found that this type of organized activity generates ripple effects that influence ordinary users. When a post gains momentum, private users who are not part of the organized network see the viral success and imitate it, aiming to ride the wave. Thus, a systematic, coordinated deception becomes a mass movement, making it very difficult to identify the source of the forgery and stop it.
It is also important to note that as AI is becoming more advanced, it is easier to create authentic dupes and harder to detect them.
“We are at a historic turning point. Whereas previously, creating a credible video forgery required expensive studios and specialized VFX teams, today any hostile actor can produce deception with minimal investment and effort,” Katznelson told N12.
He provided the example of deep fake videos of YouTuber Jake Paul, where he can be seen speaking directly to the camera completely naturally, even in languages he himself does not speak, such as Arabic.
The technology is so accessible now that the quantity of content is also skyrocketing, flooding networks, and creating an echo chamber.
Interestingly, Vetric found that much of the campaign activity could be traced to Egypt, despite attempts to obscure traces.
“We are witnessing a leap in the evolution of disinformation,” Katznelson added.
“The combination of pro-Palestinian ideological motivation, hierarchical organization, and accessible, powerful AI tools has created a well-oiled consciousness-engineering machine. The danger lies not only in the false content itself but in its ability to make millions of people act on it, share it, and involuntarily become agents of spreading lies.”
“This is believed to be just a pilot, and we can expect to see this method expand and operate on a much larger scale in the near future,” Vetric told N12.