Astroturf and sockpuppets · 2017-2022 · Israel, US

Act.IL

Act.IL was a smartphone app launched in 2017 alongside the "4IL" campaign of Israel's Ministry of Strategic Affairs. It gave volunteers online "missions", such as liking comments so they became top comments, with the coordination hidden from readers. The ministry and the app both said it never received government funding, while other reporting cited ministry spending disclosures. BuzzFeed News called the extent of government involvement unclear. The app closed around March 2022.

Portrait of Gilad Erdan in a dark suit and red tie.
Gilad Erdan, who as Minister of Strategic Affairs announced the "4IL" campaign and the Act.IL app in June 2017. Knesset portrait taken in 2013. Credit: Nati Shohat, Knesset Archive, via Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY-SA 4.0.
Run by
Disputed
Act.IL and the ministry deny government funding; ministry disclosures are cited by critics
Reported 2017-18 budget
$1.1M
Figure reported by Electronic Intifada (June 2019); not confirmed by the app or ministry
Impact not independently assessed
Unmeasured
Sources describe the method; none quantify its effect
Time to exposure
2017-2018
Press coverage from June 2017; BuzzFeed News investigation 20 September 2018; app closed about March 2022

Timeline

  1. Jun 2017 · It worked

    Minister of Strategic Affairs Gilad Erdan announces the "4IL" campaign, centred on the Act.IL app, calling it an "Iron Dome of truth". The government logo appears on the app's website at launch.

  2. 2017-2018 · It worked

    The app assigns users missions: posting talking points, emailing university administrations, and liking comments on the Facebook pages of 24 international news outlets so they become top comments. Users earn points toward prizes.

  3. 30 Jun 2017 · Exposed

    The Intercept reports a security flaw in the app's platform that exposed user emails.

  4. 20 Sep 2018 · Exposed

    BuzzFeed News publishes an investigation, quoting a researcher who calls the app "advanced digital political astroturfing": it was developed with the Interdisciplinary Centre Herzliya and two US non-profits, the Israeli-American Council and the Maccabee Task Force, all backed by Sheldon Adelson. It says the extent of government involvement is unclear. Act.IL says it is "not supported or backed by any government agencies"; a ministry spokesperson says it has never received government funding.

  5. Mar 2022 · Exposed

    The app is closed. Act.IL tells users it is "keeping up with the evolving trends of social media". +972 Magazine notes this came less than a year after the ministry was folded into the Foreign Ministry.

The government logo was on the app at launch in 2017; by 2018 the ministry and the app were saying it had never been government-funded.

The playbook

  1. 1

    Front group

    The app presented itself as an independent volunteer project while launched alongside a ministry campaign.

  2. 2

    Hidden messenger

    Readers of the comments and posts could not see that they were part of a coordinated mission.

  3. 3

    Sockpuppet amplification

    Real users, not bots, were directed to like and post in concert so chosen comments rose to the top. This is amplification by coordinated accounts, not fake identities.

Through the FATE framework

  • Focus4/10

    Missions pointed volunteers at specific posts and outlets.

  • Authority3/10

    The campaign relied on volume rather than a named authority.

  • Tribe5/10

    The app framed participation as defence of Israel against critics and the BDS movement.

  • Emotion4/10

    Points and prizes added a game element to the missions.

Propaganda techniques used

Same playbook today

The same playbook can be run by anyone, on any side. We list every current PSYOP that matches Act.IL, whoever is behind it.

No live PSYOP we track matches this playbook right now. When one does, it will appear here.