The Digital Forensic Research (DFR) Lab of US think tank Atlantic Council works with Facebook to track and analyze this type of behavior. Informed by Facebook shortly before these pages were set to be deactivated, the DFR Lab was able to save a large portion of their content. In collaboration with the Lab, Inkyfada was granted access to the content of the Tunisia-related pages. 

"Les scandales de Tunisie" (" Tunisia's Scandals"), "La voix tunisienne" (" The Tunisian Voice"), "Tout sauf Chahed" (" Everything but Chahed"), "Marre de la politique et des politiciens" (" Fed Up with Politics and Politicians"), "Les parasites de Tunis" (" The Parasites of Tunis")... in total, eleven pages are concerned. A large portion of the posts directly attack a number of Tunisian political figures. But one man in particular emerges unscathed and, as if in a prelude to an official campaign, endorsed. 

JANUARY 2019, THE CAMPAIGNING BEGINS

On January 17th, 2019, a page called " The Parasites of Tunis" was created on Facebook by five Tunisia-based administrators. In the cover photo, former head of government Youssef Chahed is placed next to former dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Blasted across the image are the words " The Parasites of Tunis" and a drawing of a skull and crossbones. The tone is set. 

In less than four months, this page generated nearly 167,000 interactions (likes, comments, and shares) from just 44 posts. Youssef Chahed and his government are the main targets of fierce criticism, while problems related to corruption and mismanagement are the main topics of discussion. Beji Caïd Essebsi, Mehdi Jomâa, and the leaders of the Ennahdha party are also targeted.

The page, which had over 37,000 subscribers when it was deactivated on May 15th, 2019, praises former President Moncef Marzouki and former Congress for the Republic (CPR) executives such as Samia Abbou and Imed Daïmi for their disapproval of the current government. The page also shares articles related to Tunisia’s transitional justice process, to the extent that they represent negative coverage of the old regime. 

While expressing support for partisans and movements linked to the CPR, the page also displays a favorable view of the private television channel, Nessma TV. The channel is presented as an opposition media outlet against the Ben Ali dictatorship, and its closure in April 2019 is condemned.

On January 17th, 2019, a second page, called " The Tunisian Voice," was created. As of May 15th, it had more than 24,000 subscribers. Through Google Cache, Inkyfada was able to view the page’s final posts before it was deactivated. 

Among the five posts retrieved, three are videos. Each video condemns Nessma’s closure and generates between 2,000 and 3,000 reactions (i.e. likes and comments). On the night before it is silenced, " The Tunisian Voice" criticizes the state of the country's institutions and the high levels of corruption and threats to democracy, before asking one last question:

" Shouldn't we completely reform the government and opt for a new candidate closer to the concerns of Tunisians? What do you all think?"

MILLIONS OF REACTIONS 

In the following month, between the 7th and 27th of February, five new pages appeared. " Everything but Chahed," " Tired of Politics and Politicians," "Tunis 24", "Organisation pour le droit et la Démocratie au Maghreb" (" Organization for Democracy and Law in the Maghreb"), and "حبي تونس" (" Tunisia, My Love") collectively accumulate around 240,000 subscribers, in just three months. 

In March, the final four pages appear: "L'homme est un soutien pour l'homme" (" Mankind Supports Mankind"), which appears to be a humanitarian page; "Stop à la désinformation et aux mensonges en Tunisie" (" Stop Misinformation and Lies Tunisia"); "الثوره إلى القمامة" (" The Revolution in the Trash"); and " Tunisia’s Scandals." In two months, these pages accumulate nearly 200,000 subscriptions.

The 11 pages in question were created between January 17th and March 12th, 2019; between them, they had nearly 500,000 subscriptions.

As of May 15th, the number of subscribers ranged from 9,083 for " Organization for Democracy and Law in the Maghreb" to 104,268 for " Tunisia’s Scandals." This last page, created on March 12th, saw remarkable growth in just over two months.

The content analyzed from these pages includes 359 publications, with more than 1 million interactions (likes, comments, and shares), and 36 videos, with nearly 8 million views. 

The Inkyfada team found that in the weeks leading up to Facebook’s decision, at least two of these pages engaged in sponsored content. Across all pages, above-average engagement and interaction rates suggest widely sponsored content. On the day it was deactivated, the " Everything but Chahed" page hosted three advertising campaigns simultaneously.

In its statement, Facebook reports that a total of $812,000 dollars were spent between December 2012 and April 2019 to promote the content of 265 pages and accounts linked to Israel. These ads were paid for in Brazilian real, Israeli shekels, or US dollars. When contacted by Inkyfada, Facebook's press service declined to provide specific information on the Tunisian pages.

Facebook states that "the page administrators and account holders frequently published articles on political events - particularly about elections in various countries, the views of candidates, or the views of political opponents."

The Tunisian pages concerned are no exception. The majority of these pages share posts of a political nature — discussing national news or political figures — while others focus on specific themes, such as humanitarian initiatives or tourism in Tunisia.

DOZENS OF TARGETS

Created on February 7th, 2019, " Everything but Chahed," as its name suggests, puts forth a particularly hostile view of the former head of government and his allies. The 35 videos published on this page gained more than 7.6 million views. The majority of these videos criticize the government's action and denounce corruption, mismanagement, and inflation.

Over time, criticism of the government grows to encompass the entire political class. The page " Tired of Politics and Politicians" is set up on February 12th, and, with 13,000 interactions on its first post, quickly gains ground.

Over three months, this page publishes a steady stream of amateurish photo collages featuring various political figures from both the leading political groups and the opposition.

Youssef Chahed, his party, and members of the government, Béji Caïd Essebsi and Nida Tounes, Rached Ghannouchi and Ennahdha, Hamma Hammami and the Popular Front, Mehdi Jomâa, Moncef Marzouki, Samia Abbou, Mohsen Marzouk, Yassine Ayari, as well as Abir Moussi and Kaïs Saïed... dozens of parties and politicians are targeted.

In order to get rid of the "corrupt" and " incompetent" political class and fight poverty and inflation, the " Tired of Politics and Politicians" page conducts a campaign in April 2019 to encourage its subscribers to register and vote in the next elections, but the page doesn’t get behind any movement in particular. 

Out of all the political figures cited by three polling firms* covering the elections in recent months, only two of them escaped criticism on this page, which had reached nearly 100,000 subscribers as of May 15th, 2019. Nabil Karoui, owner of the television channel Nessma TV, and Safi Saïd, columnist, polemicist, and 2014 presidential candidate, are never mentioned.

NESSMA TV, " AGAINST ALL ODDS"

End of February. An " Organization for Democracy and Law in the Maghreb" is created. While up, this organization’s Facebook page gained 10,000 subscribers, despite its lack of content. The page guided viewers to the organization’s website, “oddm.org”; both were registered at the same time. 

On its website, the ODDM presents itself as " a non-governmental, voluntary, and non-profit organization." In imperfect French, the organization claims to be " neutral," " completely reliable," and uninfluenced by " any external actor." The website does not provide any proof of legal existence. 

Of the nine articles published on its website, eight are duplicates of articles or press releases copied from human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International, or online media outlets, such as HuffPost Maghreb. The vast majority of these publications are backdated to before the website was created ⁠— February 26th, 2019 ⁠— or even before the original publication date of the plagiarized article.*

The ninth and final publication is the only one with original content. It is entitled " Nessma TV: Democratic Vision Against All Odds." Placed on the front page of the site, the article praises Nessma TV and its leader, Nabil Karoui.  

" We must all be free to choose our own direction. Democracy must be established so that we all have this fundamental right. As the political battle for autonomous thinking rages, people are suffering, and the whole world is watching them," the article concludes. 

Out of the 11 Tunisian pages incriminated by Facebook, "Tunis 24" is also linked to a website. This page mainly duplicates political-related announcements and articles from Mosaïque FM’s website; no other information is available. Despite the deactivation of its Facebook page, tunis24.net is still active. The website doesn’t support any candidate in particular. 

Mosaïque FM, the source of much of tunis24.net’s plagiarism, is not a reliable media outlet. The " Everything but Chahed" page accuses several television and radio stations of being in secret partnerships with the head of government. The accused media groups are radio stations Mosaïque FM and Shems FM and television channels El Hiwar Ettounsi and Attessia TV.

The " Stop Misinformation and Lies in Tunisia" page targets the online news site Kapitalis.com and its owner Ridha Kéfi, a vocal critic of Nessma TV and its leader, Nabil Karoui. 

Following the April decision to close Nessma TV, the page expressed support for Nabil Karoui and his channel. 

A GLOBAL VISION

Between covering politics and the news, the 11 Tunisian pages offered diversified content, drawing up a global and oriented vision for the country.

The wide range of content also caters to different groups. " The Parasites of Tunis" page posts pro-revolution, anti-former-regime content, appealing to supporters of CPR-born movements, while " The Revolution in the Garbage" page appeals to people with the opposite idea. On some pages, posts appear to be sourced from credible media and human rights organizations; on others, posts share crude photo collages captioned with casual language. Some pages post in French, while others favor the Tunisian dialect. 

The youngest page, " Tunisia’s Scandals," saw the most exponential growth, gaining more than 100,000 subscriptions in its just two months of existence. This page specialized in disturbing content — about rape, incest, murder, and other scams — and painted an alarming picture of the country's situation. In contrast, the " Tunisia, My Love" page shared images that promoted tourism in Tunisia, showing (real or fabricated) beautiful landscapes. 

One of the concerned pages sought support for charitable causes. More than twenty initiatives were publicized, but only one was the subject of more than one post: Khalil Tounes, the association Nabil Karoui established in honor of his son. The posts dedicated to this charity received the highest number of interactions, representing more than 40% of all interactions generated on the page. 

A HEADS UP FOR NABIL KAROUI

Analyzing the content of these 11 pages — administered from Tunis but sourced back to Israel —  reveals a bias towards one candidate in particular. The pages that criticize many political figures never target Nabil Karoui, and 5 pages share positive content related to him, his television channel, and his charity. 

Since the beginning of the year, Nabil Karoui has been regularly cited in the media. Various polling firms predicted he would lead in the elections, and he gained attention following the closure of his television channel, which prompted strong reactions from the public. On May 27th, in the midst of being accused of using his media outlet and association for political gain, Nabil Karoui officially announced his campaign on his own channel, Nessma TV. 

When asked to comment on the content of the deactivated Facebook pages, the presidential hopeful can’t be bothered. In a brief telephone interview, he responds with agitation: " I don't understand why you’re calling me? Do you have any personal connection to me? Why don't you call some association?"

" Why now?" " Why me?" " Why not Abir Moussi, for example?" asks the candidate. "I have no explanation, I don't see why you’re calling me, or who sent you," he adds.

At the end of the conversation, Karoui finally agrees to respond to certain questions by email, but down the line, and despite multiple reminders, he never does. 

Whether ordered by a candidate, another individual, or an entity, Facebook reports that these targeted campaigns were all contrived by one, Israel-based company by the name of Archimedes Group. The objective of this company?: “Change reality” in order to “win elections around the world.” 

"CHANGE REALITY"

Following the deactivation of the company’s Facebook pages, the Archimedes Group website was also taken down. The site had clearly outlined the group’s work, stating that they operated primarily in Africa, but also in Southeast Asia and Latin America.

"Our teams have played a significant role in many political or public campaigns, such as presidential elections or other projects on social media networks around the world," Archimedes claims. 

To achieve this, the Israeli company claims to have developed a set of "innovative" products that can "change reality according to the wishes of its customers." One such product, the "Archimedes Tarva," offers customers a software-based solution to campaign management. 

"Developed by leading social media experts and written by our top developers, it includes tools for automating and managing campaigns on social media networks, can create platforms on a large scale, and offers unlimited operations for online accounts. 

The license includes on-site training and implementation, as well as 24/7 technical support.”

According to several sources, including AIPAC, the powerful US pro-Israel lobby, the CEO of Archimedes Group is a man by the name of Elinadav Heymann. Difficult to trace online, Heymann’s biography disappeared from many sites once Facebook revealed his group’s activities. One such site, negotiations.ch, claims that Heymann is a former intelligence officer of the Israeli Air Force.

This is not the first time that an Israeli company managed by a former intelligence officer has been linked to this type of activity. The New York Times reported that in 2016, Trump aide Rick Gates established contact with the Psy-Group, which was run by former Israeli intelligence agents. A document prepared by the Psy-Group detailed an action plan to target and influence thousands of Republican representatives. 

It is not unusual to find Israeli companies specializing in mass manipulation techniques that operate through social media networks. The technological skills developed within the Israel army for cyber defense and counter-intelligence purposes have also shaped domestic economic planning that supports new digital technologies. It so happens, confirms Fabrice Epelboin, a teacher at the Sciences Po Paris' MediaLab, that many Israeli startups are formed by army veterans trained in Israeli intelligence units.

Companies such as Archimedes Group, which specialize in manipulating the masses via social media networks, serve states, brands, and political groups by influencing public opinion in a decentralized way. 

Facebook’s removal of pages linked to Archimedes is unlikely to stop the spread of "misleading" content in Tunisia. On May 31st, a fake survey seemingly created by a French company was widely shared on Facebook before being picked up by several media outlets. This poll showed Nabil Karoui well in the lead for the presidential election. The circulation of this false information forced the actual company, Visactu, whose name was usurped, to publicly deny the validity of the survey. This time, the deception was quickly revealed. But the campaign has just begun.