How fake OSINT manipulates Middle East news

In-depth: 

Fake Open-Source Intelligence accounts are spreading disinformation about the Middle East on X, with many following a similar playbook.

Alysia Grapek
09 April, 2025
THE NEW ARAB


Fact-checking and open-source intelligence (OSINT) - the analysis of publicly available information - have become popular tools in combating media manipulation.

But these techniques can also be used more sinisterly. News reporting on the Middle East is increasingly facing massive disinformation campaigns on social media, leaving media professionals and audiences alike scrambling to counter the pernicious effects.

When the OSINT field is abused, the public is exposed to harmful mis- and disinformation under the guise of objective facts.
OSINT in the Arab world

Since the start of Israel's genocide in Gaza, OSINT has been increasingly used to uncover Israeli war crimes. Geolocation, or using public sources such as satellite imagery and photos to identify a location, has helped pinpoint sites where Israeli soldiers have destroyed civilian infrastructure in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

These geolocations help build evidence that could potentially be used in future court cases and in countering Israeli disinformation about their war tactics.


In Lebanon, fact-checking and OSINT investigations continue to play a role in finding and documenting evidence of Israeli crimes, while in Syria, dedicated OSINT investigation teams, like the database Bayanat by the Syria Justice and Accountability Centre, help counter online disinformation.

But legitimate fact-checking initiatives face barriers.

"Certain types of content – particularly those related to developments in our region, such as the situation in Gaza - are being restricted; there appears to be far less effort directed at combating disinformation campaigns," Murad Mohammed Al-Hamwi, an open-source investigative journalist and fact-checker, told The New Arab.

So-called OSINT has also been weaponised to push falsehoods, Israeli talking points, and misinformation.
Disinformation through OSINT accounts

OSINT Defender, a high-profile account found to be run by US-based former army officer Simon Anderson, spreads alleged disinformation on Ukraine and Palestine. The account, which boasts over 1.3 million followers on X, has posted debunked Israeli military claims as OSINT-verified truths, including that a Hamas headquarters was found under Gaza's Al-Shifa hospital.

Other profiles claiming to be OSINT monitors or radars, such as Open Source Intel, use their platform to spread pro-Israel narratives and disinformation under the guise of verified truth. The account, which sells Israeli merchandise and is open about being based in Israel, uses the bio "Monitoring Real-Time News and Open Source Intelligence", which closely resembles that of OSINT Defender.

While Israeli troops were invading Lebanon in November, Open Source Intel posted an unsourced map of the Arab country, saying the Israeli military "looks like it's going to try to encircle Al-Khaim, a very strategic mountain", adding it would "hopefully fall by next week".




In another post, the account shared a screenshot of an UNRWA statement and claimed the UN's Palestinian refugee agency "IS A TERRORIST ORGANISATION", an Israeli disinformation talking point.

Accounts spreading fake information often post legitimate breaking news in between publishing opinionated, unverified, and biased descriptions of news events, making it harder for the public to separate fact from fiction. It would take a user wading through the entire profile to notice the difference.


They also use a number of ploys in the hopes of appearing more credible and legitimate, including by paying for the blue tick verified status on X. Other potential warning signs are the terms "Radar", "Monitor", "Warfare" or, more literally, "OSINT" or "Open Source" in their names, as well as nearly identical formatting in posts and structure. Photos, videos, and claims are often digitally edited and presented without links to original sources.

Bara'a Al-Ma'any, a fact-checker and digital verification specialist with the Arab Fact Checkers Network, part of Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism, said: "When an account tries to obscure where footage comes from by not providing the original source, flipping the images or deleting a watermark, it shows a tactic that purposely tries to hide the information that can be used to help verify something."

Posts often begin with a lightning bolt or siren emoji, usually alongside the word "BREAKING" – a sign the content is aimed at grabbing attention. Using this format, OSINT Observer, an anonymously run profile claiming to be based in the Middle East, shared disinformation fabricating claims that the deaths of two Israeli hostage children from the Bibas family were caused by "ordinary Gazans".

The earlier post about the autopsy refers to an Israeli claim that the children were killed by Hamas and not an Israeli airstrike, though evidence was never provided for this accusation.




Other accounts using these tactics include Israel Radar, which reports almost exclusively on Israeli military actions, narratives, and talking points. The now-deleted account MiddleEastOsint was recently exposed as part of an Israeli disinformation campaign to smear Palestinian journalists.

"OSINT disinformation accounts that focus on the Arab world can hurt the credibility of journalists on the ground too, putting people in the position of having to suffer through traumatic experiences twice. One to report on it and the other to prove that what they reported was true," Al-Ma'any said.

War Monitor, though not an OSINT-specific page, uses the same formatting to share news while adding its own opinion. The account, which identifies itself as being based in Lebanon, shares breaking news interspersed with opinions, commentary, and examples of bigoted beliefs. In one post, the account wrote: "Why hasn't my government deported every single Syrian refugee currently in Lebanon?".




The tactics of making breaking news-style posts and using the open-source label to stir up engagement also point to a broader strategy.


"When an algorithm detects that a particular piece of content is gaining traction among users, it tends to amplify that content by pushing it to an even broader audience, under the assumption that it is relevant or desirable," Al-Hamwi said. "The problem arises when that content is, in fact, false or misleading."
X's complicity: Danger in virality

X posts receive most of their engagement shortly after publication, making it difficult for fact-checkers to act in time and helping fake news break through. Tariq Kenney-Shawa, US policy fellow at the Palestinian think tank Al-Shabaka, said pro-Israel OSINT profiles have "always provided cover for the Israeli military", including through selective reporting and ignoring war crimes.

"But what I think has changed is the prospect of making money on [X] – the monetisation of engagement," he told The New Arab.

"Any type of engagement, whether it's negative or positive, can pay big bucks. The reality is that disinformation and outright propaganda are high-engagement content, meaning they generate a lot of money."

Experts urge users to develop media literacy around OSINT accounts by checking what information exists about a post's author and their motives, looking for uncited sources, and questioning whether so-called investigators are inserting their own opinions or regurgitating politicised claims.

"These [fake] accounts aren't just popping up out of nowhere and brainwashing people, they're providing what many people want, which is quick, politically charged breaking news that confirms people's pre-existing biases," Kenney-Shawa said.

Alysia Grapek is an editor, fact-checker, and open-source intelligence investigator specialising in the Middle East and geolocation