Fake Facebook accounts comparing Netanyahu to Hitler taken down

"Our global investigation teams have found that two profiles showed suspicious signs of being fake profiles and were removed from the platform," the Facebook in Israel spokesperson said on Tuesday.

By TOBIAS SIEGAL
Example of incitement from Palestinian social media‏. (photo credit: PALESTINIAN SOCIAL MEDIA)
Example of incitement from Palestinian social media‏.
(photo credit: PALESTINIAN SOCIAL MEDIA)
Facebook took down on Tuesday profiles it suspected to be fake, that compared Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler, according to a report by Haaretz.
The profiles shared pictures that clearly compared Netanyahu to Hitler, and according to Haaretz, were trying to harm the image of the anti-Netanyahu protests that have been spreading across Israel in recent weeks, by spreading incitement and inappropriate images across social media.
"Our global investigation teams have found that two profiles showed suspicious signs of being fake profiles and were removed from the platform," the Facebook in Israel spokesperson said on Tuesday.
The team that discovered and verified the fake account was made up of volunteers that actively seek for fake online accounts spreading incitement across social media.
Yossi Dorfman, a strategic consultant and digital expert, exposed the fake accounts on Twitter on Tuesday and wrote that he had alerted the Black Flag movement managers, letting them know that the profiles in question were spreading incitement in their group. 

This is the second time that Facebook has taken down profiles suspected of inciting violence against Netanyahu. Earlier this month, a fake profile titled "Nehuray Yosef" was also taken down after showing similar activity and posting images that show Netanyahu next to Hitler, comparing the two.
The two profiles that were blocked on Wednesday were called "Aviel Dayan" and "Meir Biton" and showed similar patterns.
All fake profiles spreading incitement constantly tagged activists related to the anti-Netanyahu protests, "while using the option of tagging friends without those people knowing or being alerted that they were tagged," Dorfman said.

Furthermore, the first action in all suspected accounts was to add a profile picture, which was done on the same day. All accounts joined the Black Flag movement's Facebook page on the same day, shortly before sharing the inciting posts.
Dorfman was also the first person to identify suspicious activity in the profile called "Dana Ron," which in July made headlines after publishing a violent post calling for Netanyahu's death. That case turned out to be fake as well and Facebook deleted the account.


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Adolf Hitler
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incitement