Royi Burstien
Retired Israeli military intelligence officer; co-founder and CEO of Percepto International
| Royi Burstien
| |
|---|---|
| Image |  Royi Burstien, from the Percepto International website |
| Nationality | Israeli |
| Occupation | Chief executive of Percepto International |
| Known for | Founder of Psy-Group; co-founder of Percepto International |
| Education | Tel Aviv University (BA, MBA) |
Royi Burstien (רועי בורשטיין; also spelt Royi Burstein) is a retired lieutenant colonel in Israeli military intelligence who founded Psy-Group and later co-founded Percepto International with the political strategist Lior Chorev. Percepto lists him as "Co-Founder, CEO & Chief Intelligence Officer".[1]
Career
According to Percepto's website, Burstien is a "Lt. Colonel (ret.), 27-year veteran of the IDF intelligence directorate" (Aman) whose experience covered "Field, Cyber, SIGINT, HUMINT, Special Operations, PSYOPS, Narrative Warfare". After retiring in 2013 he:[1]
- co-founded I2A Ltd ("Business Intelligence")
- "established and managed Psy Group (EU-based, Intelligence-led Influence campaigns)" (Psy-Group)
- privately held Athiri
- co-founded Percepto International with Lior Chorev.
The site says he holds a BA in economics and business administration and an MBA from Tel Aviv University.[1]
| Organisation | Title | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Israel Defense Forces intelligence directorate (Aman) | Lieutenant colonel (retired) | – 2013 |
| I2A Ltd | Co-founder | after 2013 |
| Psy-Group | Founder and manager | |
| Percepto International | Co-Founder, CEO & Chief Intelligence Officer | 2021 – |
Source: [1]
Percepto International
RFI reported that Percepto was "Créée en mars 2021 par Lior Chorev et Royi Burstien".[2] Israel's company register lists L.R Perception International Ltd (no. 516353521), incorporated on 2 March 2021.[3]
Story Killers (2023)
Burstien met reporters from Radio France, Haaretz and TheMarker who posed as prospective clients between July 2022 and January 2023, as part of the Forbidden Stories "Story Killers" project.[4] On 14 March 2023 Frédéric Métézeau of Radio France told a French National Assembly committee of inquiry that Percepto was run by "Royi Burstein, ancien officier supérieur de l'armée israélienne", and Chorev, and that Burstien had offered to "activer M. Kémi Seba via un avatar, qui pourrait être un faux oligarque russe basé à Monaco".[4] Forbidden Stories linked Percepto's team to a 2020 campaign against the International Committee of the Red Cross in Burkina Faso, which included an op-ed in Valeurs Actuelles.[5] franceinfo reported that Burstien gave the undercover reporters a list of countries in which the company had worked.[6]
"Great Replacement" report (2026)
Marc Owen Jones and Sohan Dsouza's October 2026 report Manufacturing the "Great Replacement" mentions Burstien as Chorev's co-founder at Percepto and as the founder of Psy Group, in a section on unresolved leads concerning the designer Shuki Duchovni. It states that Burstien had not been approached.[7]
See also
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Percepto International, About us, perceptointernational.com, accessed 30 October 2026.
- ↑ RFI, Au Burkina Faso, comment le CICR aurait été la cible d'une campagne de manipulation, RFI, 16 February 2023, accessed 30 October 2026.
- ↑ Taagidim (from the Israeli Registrar of Companies open data), ל.ר. פרספשן אינטרנשיונל בע"מ – ח.פ 516353521, accessed 30 October 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Assemblée nationale, Compte rendu n° 15, Commission d'enquête relative aux ingérences politiques, économiques et financières de puissances étrangères, 14 March 2023, accessed 30 October 2026.
- ↑ Forbidden Stories, The "masters of perception," Burkina Faso and the International Committee of the Red Cross: anatomy of a manipulation campaign, Forbidden Stories, February 2023, accessed 30 October 2026.
- ↑ franceinfo, Enquête "Story Killers": Percepto, l'autre champion de la désinformation, a ciblé "Valeurs actuelles", franceinfo, February 2023, accessed 30 October 2026.
- ↑ Marc Owen Jones and Sohan Dsouza, Manufacturing the "Great Replacement": the full report, Dysinfluence, 29 October 2026, accessed 30 October 2026.