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Abu Ali Express

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Abu Ali Express
Type of site
Telegram news channel
Available inHebrew, English
Country of originIsrael
Founder(s)Gilad Cohen
EditorGilad Cohen
URL
Usersover 458,000

Abu Ali Express (In Hebrew אבו עלי אקספרס) is an Israeli channel that covers Arab affairs on social media, including Telegram and Twitter, as well as on its own website.[1]

According to a report by Haaretz, the page was created by Israeli citizen Gilad Cohen, whose social media activity began in 2014 across platforms including Facebook. The report suggests that he has been employed by the Israel Defense Forces for around two years.[2]

As of September 2022, it was the Telegram channel with the most views per post in Israel.[3] Stories first published by Abu Ali Express have been often reproduced in the mainstream Israeli media, including in Maariv,[4] Globes,[5] Ynet,[6] Arutz Sheva,[7] as well as on Israeli television.[8][9]

During the Israel–Hamas war in 2023–2024, the channel hit new records with over 25 million views and 30,000 new subscribers in one day,[10] and over 100,000 new subscribers who joined throughout the fighting.[11]

History

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The page "Abu Ali Express" first appeared as an "alternative news source" on "Arab affairs" on Facebook in 2018; shortly after, the page was removed from Facebook, and a new account was then opened on Telegram; two Twitter accounts – one in Hebrew, one in English – followed.[12] For the following two years, the pages grew to over 100,000 followers,[12] with its followers led to believe "Abu Ali" was actually a member of the Israeli Arab community.

According to Middle East Eye, Israeli citizen Gilad Cohen was hired by Major General Herzi Halevi soon after the outbreak of the 2018–2019 Gaza border protests when masses of Palestinians in Gaza began marching in protest demonstrations along the Gaza-Israeli border.[13]

In May 2021, during the Israeli-Gaza war, the channel hit a record of 6.7 million views per day, posting many exclusive articles during the fighting, which were then cited by many media outlets.[12] Shortly after, Israeli newspaper Haaretz posted an article suggesting that "Abu Ali Express" was actually a channel run by Cohen, at the time a paid consultant to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), who had chosen "Abu Ali" as a pseudonym.[12][14]

The account has been the source of a number of noteworthy reports that were afterwards cited by other media. Abu Ali Express was, for example, the source for the report that Qatari funds were entering the Gaza Strip in suitcases.[12][13] Before it was revealed that the page was run by one of its paid consultants, IDF spokespersons had themselves recommended Abu Ali Express as a source of information concerning the situation in Gaza.[13]

Prior to the disclosure of the page's connection to the IDF, Abu Ali Express has been critical of Israeli journalists who expressed criticism of the way the IDF conducted operations in Gaza. The page was also often critical of journalists who question the army. When the military correspondent for Walla, Amir Bohbot, wrote that the army's response to Gaza rocket fire has been weak, his opinion was dismissed in an Abu Ali article bearing the heading: "Israeli reporters in the service of the enemy", characterizing Bohbot as a "vehicle of Hamas propaganda".[13]

During the Israel–Hamas war in 2023–2024, the channel hit new records with over 25 million views and 30,000 new subscribers in one day,[10] and over 100,000 new subscribers who joined throughout the fighting.[11]

The identity of the creator of "Abu Ali Express"

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In 2021, Israeli newspaper Haaretz revealed that the page was run by an Israeli named Gilad Cohen, who at the time was working as a "psyops" (psychological warfare) operator, paid by the IDF.[2][15] Cohen's job was to identify and analyze trends and turning points among the Palestinians, especially in Gaza. The channel didn't state that it was run by a paid consultant to the IDF, and the Israeli army also did not disclose its cooperation with Cohen.[12]

Still according to Haaretz, Cohen had initially served as a junior officer in the IDF's Office of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT). Until after Haaretz's revealing of Abu Ali's real identity, the channel hadn't stated that it was run by a paid consultant to the IDF, and the Israeli army also had never disclosed that Cohen worked for it.[12]

After the publication in Haaretz, two associations of Israeli journalists contacted Deputy Chief of Staff Halevi to receive explanations about the defamation of colleagues by someone who served as a consciousness consultant to senior IDF officers.[16] At the time, the IDF informed the Israeli journalists that they were officially forbidden to publish Cohen's name in Israeli media, by a censorship order issued by Israel's military justice, on the grounds that Cohen had been exposed to sensitive information and performed a sensitive role. A few weeks later, however, the IDF changed its position, claiming that Cohen had never been exposed to any classified information, and the censorship on his name was lifted.[16]

Shortly after Haaretz discovered that the popular channel was run by Cohen, at the time a paid consultant to the IDF,[12][14] the newspaper dedicated an editorial to it, regretting that "as if it were not enough that the IDF is using taxpayers’ money to pay the director of a private news channel for psyops, it emerges that the channel does not confine itself to disseminating information but also attacks Israeli journalists".[2] Furthermore, the newspaper regretted that such criticism of part of the Israeli media had been "done by a news channel operated by someone the IDF hired as an adviser for psychological warfare on the social networks".[2]

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References

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  1. ^ אבו עלי אקספרס - חדשות, מבזקים ופרשנות על העולם הערבי [Abu Ali Express - News, flash and commentary on the Arab world]. Abu Ali Express (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2022-09-27.
  2. ^ a b c d "Israel Must Investigate Its Army's Social Media Psyops". Haaretz. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
  3. ^ telemetrio.io. "Popular channels by Israel". telemetr.io. Retrieved 2022-09-27.
  4. ^ רם [Ram], טל לב [Tal Lev] (2020-07-27). חיזבאללה מכחישים: לא הייתה כוונה לתקוף את ישראל - תגובה תגיע בהמשך [Hezbollah denies: there was no intention to attack Israel - a response will come later]. Maariv. Retrieved 2022-09-27.
  5. ^ ברקוביץ' [Berkovich], אורי [Uri] (2020-07-06). האם התעשייה מוגנת מפני מתקפות סייבר? "בחלק מהמפעלים לא מבינים למה זה קשור אליהם" [Is the industry protected from cyber attacks? "In some factories they don't understand why it has to do with them"]. Globes (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2022-09-27.
  6. ^ אברהמי [Abrahami], זאב [Zev] (2022-02-28). "לא נשאיר אף אחד מאחור": יממה עם מחלצי הישראלים באוקראינה ["We will not leave anyone behind": a day with the Israeli rescuers in Ukraine]. Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2022-09-27.
  7. ^ פייגלין [Feiglin], אריאל [Ariel] (2020-10-13). חמשת ערוצי הטלגרם שאתם צריכים להכיר [The five Telegram channels you need to know]. Channel 7 (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on 2020-12-01. Retrieved 2022-09-27.
  8. ^ Hebrew: דבורי, romanized: Debori, Hebrew: ניר, romanized: Nir (2018-05-23). דאע"ש מאשים: "ישראל תוקפת בסיני" [ISIS accuses: "Israel attacks in Sinai"]. N12. Retrieved 2022-09-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ אבו עלי אקספרס [Abu Ali Express]. Telegram. 2018-05-24. Retrieved 2022-09-27. Hebrew: ניר דבורי היקר וצוות חדשות 2, אני מודה לכם מקרב לב על המעקב כאן בערוץ. זה לא בושה לתת קרדיט גם אם אתם חדשות 2 הגדולים. או שתמיד שמורה לכם הזכות למצוא את המידע באופן עצמאי במקום להעתיק..., lit. 'Dear Nir Davori and the News 2 team, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for following here on the channel. It is not a shame to give credit even if you are the big 2 news. Or you always reserve the right to find the information independently instead of copying...'
  10. ^ a b "Israel: בסופו של יום עמוס". Abu Ali Express (in Hebrew). 2023-10-18. Retrieved 2023-11-01.
  11. ^ a b "תודה רבה לעוקב ה 250 אלף". Abu Ali Express (in Hebrew). 2023-10-08. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h Kubovich, Yaniv (18 August 2021). "Israeli Army Employs Popular Blogger for Psyops on Social Media". Haaretz. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
  13. ^ a b c d "Israel: Army employs blogger for online 'psyops', report says". Middle East Eye. 2021-08-18. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  14. ^ a b Silverstein, Richard (2021-08-20). "BREAKING: IDF Psy Ops Operation, Abu Ali Express, Run by Gilad Cohen". Tikun Olam תיקון עולם. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
  15. ^ "Israeli army employs blogger for online 'psyops': Report". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 2022-09-30.
  16. ^ a b "צה"ל סיים את העסקתו של מנהל ערוץ הטלגרם שהכפיש עיתונאים ונבחרי ציבור". הארץ (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2022-10-20.
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