Team Jorge
Team Jorge is the name given to an outfit of Israeli contractors specialized in the use of malign cyber activities including hacking, sabotage and bot farm-run social media disinformation campaigns to manipulate the outcomes of elections.
The group was exposed in February 2023 by a consortium of investigative journalists party to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and led by Le Monde, Der Spiegel and El País. The organization has been active for two decades and boasts of having manipulated more than 30 elections worldwide, many of them in Africa.
Its activities were revealed after a sting operation by three undercover journalists posing as prospective clients filmed interactions with Tal Hanan—the group's leader and a former Israeli special forces operative—in Tel Aviv in 2022 in which he explained the inner workings of the organization.[1] Tal Hanan's nickname in the group is "Jorge", hence the name.
History
The organization is alleged to have existed for more than two decades, and has been engaged in propaganda and disinformation activities in more than 30 countries. According to the group's leader, Tal Hanan, its services are available to governmental intelligence agencies, political campaign movements and private companies that wished to covertly manipulate public opinion. One of the organization's chief tools is a software package called Advanced Impact Media Solutions, or Aims. Through this software, it is possible to control thousands of fake social media profiles on websites such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Telegram, and others. The group also employs hacking techniques to brute force accounts of potential victims.
The group is said to have six offices across the world, with its headquarters located in Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut, a town 35 kilometres (22 mi) southeast of Tel Aviv. Among the people working for this organization is Tal Hanan's brother, Zohar Hanan (known under the alias Nick), described as the group's chief executive.
OCCRP investigation
Team Jorge's activities were revealed after a sting operation by three undercover journalists posing as prospective clients filmed interactions with Tal Hanan—the group's leader and a former Israeli special forces operative—in Tel Aviv in 2022 in which he explained the inner workings of the organization.[1]
In the leaked conversations, Tal Hanan boasted of having interferred in 33 presidential-level campaigns, 27 of which with positive results for the faction that hired them. Emails leaked to The Guardian show that Team Jorge was in contact with Cambridge Analytica in 2015 and 2017 over political campaigns in Africa and South America. In 2022, during the meeting with the undercover journalists, Tal Hanan showcased he was able to hack into the accounts of Itumbi, a digital strategist for William Ruto during the Kenyan general election of that year.[2]
Leaked documents revealed that Team Jorge, alongside Cambridge Analytica, worked to manipulate the 2015 Nigerian election.[3]
Le Monde found that Team Jorge created various segments that Rachid M'Barki, a French television presenter for BFM TV, broadcast without editor approval, possibly on behalf of foreign governments. He was suspended in January 2023 amid the inquiry by international investigative reporting teams.[4] It was suggested to undercover reporters by a member of Team Jorge that the group was behind a BFM TV news report that discussed the effect of sanctions against Russian oligarchs on Monaco's luxury yachting industry.[5]
See also
References
- ^ a b Kirchgaessner, Stephanie; Ganguly, Manisha; Pegg, David; Cadwalladr, Carole; Burke, Jason (15 February 2023). "Revealed: the hacking and disinformation team meddling in elections". The Guardian.
- ^ Megiddo, Gur; Benjakob, Omer. "The Israelis destabilizing democracy and disrupting elections worldwide". Haaretz. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
- ^ "Revealed: the hacking and disinformation team meddling in elections". 15 February 2023.
- ^ Leloup, Damien; Reynaud, Florian (15 February 2023). "#StoryKillers: The links between Israel-based 'Team Jorge' and a French TV presenter who aired fake news". Le Monde. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
- ^ "French broadcaster BFMTV suspends presenter amid disinformation scandal". 15 February 2023.