Difference between revisions of "Words of Iron"
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Hasbara Bot (talk | contribs) (Archived Words of Iron feeds and scripts: 13 ready-made replies, Auto Pilot, posts selected (Nawfal, Roytman, Lantsman, StandWithUs, IDF) and #wordsofiron replies found) |
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| name = Words of Iron | | name = Words of Iron | ||
| type = Online tool (website and Chrome extension) | | type = Online tool (website and Chrome extension) | ||
| − | | founded = | + | | founded = {{Start date|2023|10}} |
| founder = Shaked Lokits (software engineer); developed with the [[Israel Tech Guard]] volunteer group and the start-up Akooda | | founder = Shaked Lokits (software engineer); developed with the [[Israel Tech Guard]] volunteer group and the start-up Akooda | ||
| website = wordsofiron.com | | website = wordsofiron.com | ||
| Line 22: | Line 22: | ||
''[[The Washington Post]]'' reported that the tool encouraged users to mass-report a post saying Jesus was Palestinian. The creator of that post said her reach had afterwards been restricted.<ref name="WaPo2024" /> ''[[MintPress News]]'' wrote that [[Israel Tech Guard]] "collaborated with the Israeli National Information Directorate and the Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism to launch Words of Iron".<ref name="MintITG2024" /> (Critical.) | ''[[The Washington Post]]'' reported that the tool encouraged users to mass-report a post saying Jesus was Palestinian. The creator of that post said her reach had afterwards been restricted.<ref name="WaPo2024" /> ''[[MintPress News]]'' wrote that [[Israel Tech Guard]] "collaborated with the Israeli National Information Directorate and the Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism to launch Words of Iron".<ref name="MintITG2024" /> (Critical.) | ||
| + | |||
| + | == Ready-made replies and Auto Pilot == | ||
| + | An early version of the site, archived on 12 October 2023, described itself as an "Automation system for Israel supportive content publishing".<ref name="WOIJS20231012" /> The script behind the reply page, archived on 2 and 14 November 2023, held a fixed list of 13 replies. The tool picked one, added the hashtags "#bringthemhome #wordsofiron", and opened X's reply box with the text filled in. The list included "I stand in solidarity with Israel.", "Hamas must go - for Israel AND for Gaza!", "If it looks like ISIS, murders like ISIS and beheads like ISIS, it's ISIS. #HamasisISIS" and "Please pray for the 241 hostages! #BringThemHomeNow". The hostage figure was 203 in the 2 November version and 241 in the 14 November version.<ref name="WOIJS20231102" /><ref name="WOIJS20231114" /> The same 13 replies were still in use in February 2024.<ref name="WOIJS20240223" /> | ||
| + | |||
| + | By 26 December 2023 the site's text included an "Auto Pilot" button and an "Automat Mode" screen: "All you have to do is take a break and relax - We will do it for you :)". Users could tick "like", "comment" and "save" before pressing "2... 3... La-unch". The progress messages ended with "Wow, you're a Hasbara hero!"<ref name="WOIJS20231226" /> DFRLab described this as a badge awarded when users reached a daily target.<ref name="DFRLab2024" /> By February 2024 the reply page told users "First, install our plugin" and linked to a Chrome Web Store extension listed as "words-of-iron-automation".<ref name="WOIJS20240223" /> | ||
| + | |||
| + | == Posts selected for amplification == | ||
| + | The posts offered to users on X came from a feed at wordsofiron.com/api/posts. The Wayback Machine holds copies captured on 2 November 2023, 14 November 2023 and 30 July 2024. Together they list 250 entries, linking to posts by 126 accounts.<ref name="WOIFeed20231102" /><ref name="WOIFeed20231114" /><ref name="WOIFeed20240730" /> A listing shows that Words of Iron picked a post for amplification. It does not by itself show that the account holder knew about it or took part. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The accounts include the [[Israel Defense Forces]], [[StandWithUs]] (seven posts), Israel's embassy in Washington, [[Eylon Levy]], then an Israeli government spokesman, [[Hillel Neuer]] of [[UN Watch]], [[Michael Dickson]] of StandWithUs, [[Douglas Murray]] and [[Brigitte Gabriel]]. They also include the news aggregator [[Mario Nawfal]], [[Sacha Roytman]], chief executive of the [[Combat Antisemitism Movement]], the Canadian Conservative MP [[Melissa Lantsman]], US Senators John Fetterman and Jacky Rosen, and news outlets such as AP, ''The Wall Street Journal'', the ''New York Post'' and ''Bild''.<ref name="WOIFeed20231102" /><ref name="WOIFeed20231114" /><ref name="WOIFeed20240730" /> | ||
| + | |||
| + | Replies using the tool's texts and the #wordsofiron hashtag can still be found under some of the listed posts: | ||
| + | {| class="wikitable" | ||
| + | |+ Selected posts in the archived Words of Iron feeds | ||
| + | ! Account !! Post !! Feed (capture) !! #wordsofiron replies found on X (21 October 2026) | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | | [[Mario Nawfal]] || 1 November 2023: two children who "hid in a closet at home while Hamas killed their parents" (citing Channel 12) || Dated 1 November 2023 (2 November 2023 capture)<ref name="WOIFeed20231102" /> || 83 replies from 55 accounts, 1–8 November 2023. They used the "203 hostages" text up to 4 November and the "241 hostages" text from 5 November, as in the two versions of the script.<ref name="XRepliesNawfal" /> | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | | [[Sacha Roytman]] ([[Combat Antisemitism Movement]]) || 7 November 2023: "You can't erase the truth." || Dated 7 November 2023 (14 November 2023 capture)<ref name="WOIFeed20231114" /> || 63 replies from 43 accounts, 8–21 November 2023, nearly all word for word from the list<ref name="XRepliesRoytman" /> | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | | [[Melissa Lantsman]] || 6 April 2024: "Peaceful protester wearing a pretend suicide vest at the #AlQudsDay rally in Toronto" || Dated 7 April 2024, intent "support", region "NA" (30 July 2024 capture)<ref name="WOIFeed20240730" /> || 2 replies, one using the text "The world must unite in support for Israel"<ref name="XRepliesLantsman" /> | ||
| + | |} | ||
| + | These counts are minimums, because X search does not return deleted posts or suspended accounts. | ||
== See also == | == See also == | ||
| Line 28: | Line 51: | ||
* [[Moovers]] | * [[Moovers]] | ||
* [[Act.IL]] | * [[Act.IL]] | ||
| + | * [[Combat Antisemitism Movement]] | ||
==Notes== | ==Notes== | ||
| Line 39: | Line 63: | ||
<ref name="WaPo2024">Taylor Lorenz, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/01/24/gaza-israel-activism-online/ Growing number of apps help automate pro-Israel activism online] ''The Washington Post'', 25 January 2024. Journalistic.</ref> | <ref name="WaPo2024">Taylor Lorenz, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/01/24/gaza-israel-activism-online/ Growing number of apps help automate pro-Israel activism online] ''The Washington Post'', 25 January 2024. Journalistic.</ref> | ||
<ref name="MintITG2024">Jessica Buxbaum, [https://www.mintpressnews.com/free-speech-under-fire-israel-tech-guard-online-freedom/287771/ Free Speech Under Fire: How Israel's Tech Guard Is Killing Free Speech Online] ''MintPress News'', 2024. Critical.</ref> | <ref name="MintITG2024">Jessica Buxbaum, [https://www.mintpressnews.com/free-speech-under-fire-israel-tech-guard-online-freedom/287771/ Free Speech Under Fire: How Israel's Tech Guard Is Killing Free Speech Online] ''MintPress News'', 2024. Critical.</ref> | ||
| + | <ref name="WOIJS20231012">Words of Iron, [https://web.archive.org/web/20231012171209/https://www.wordsofiron.com/assets/index-02681a59.js Site script (archived 12 October 2023)] ''Wayback Machine'', accessed 21 October 2026. Primary.</ref> | ||
| + | <ref name="WOIJS20231102">Words of Iron, [https://web.archive.org/web/20231102053944/https://www.wordsofiron.com/_next/static/chunks/app/%5Blocale%5D/%5Bintent%5D/%5Bplatform%5D/page-22a173220f5addcd.js Reply page script (archived 2 November 2023)] ''Wayback Machine'', accessed 21 October 2026. Primary.</ref> | ||
| + | <ref name="WOIJS20231114">Words of Iron, [https://web.archive.org/web/20231114205225/https://www.wordsofiron.com/_next/static/chunks/app/%5Blocale%5D/%5Bintent%5D/%5Bplatform%5D/page-43e2540be146c703.js Reply page script (archived 14 November 2023)] ''Wayback Machine'', accessed 21 October 2026. Primary.</ref> | ||
| + | <ref name="WOIJS20231226">Words of Iron, [https://web.archive.org/web/20231226033449/https://wordsofiron.com/_next/static/chunks/886.96defb29172c4e06.js Site text strings (archived 26 December 2023)] ''Wayback Machine'', accessed 21 October 2026. Primary.</ref> | ||
| + | <ref name="WOIJS20240223">Words of Iron, [https://web.archive.org/web/20240223025416/https://wordsofiron.com/_next/static/chunks/app/%5Blocale%5D/%5Bintent%5D/%5Bplatform%5D/page-ab5a4e63ec519200.js Reply page script (archived 23 February 2024)] ''Wayback Machine'', accessed 21 October 2026. Primary.</ref> | ||
| + | <ref name="WOIFeed20231102">Words of Iron, [https://web.archive.org/web/20231102055352/https://www.wordsofiron.com/api/posts?platform=twitter&intent=share X "share" feed (archived 2 November 2023)] ''Wayback Machine'', accessed 21 October 2026. Primary.</ref> | ||
| + | <ref name="WOIFeed20231114">Words of Iron, [https://web.archive.org/web/20231114211906/https://www.wordsofiron.com/api/posts?platform=twitter&intent=share X "share" feed (archived 14 November 2023)] ''Wayback Machine'', accessed 21 October 2026. Primary.</ref> | ||
| + | <ref name="WOIFeed20240730">Words of Iron, [https://web.archive.org/web/20240730060612/https://wordsofiron.com/api/posts?platform=twitter&intent=share X "share" feed (archived 30 July 2024)] ''Wayback Machine'', accessed 21 October 2026. Primary.</ref> | ||
| + | <ref name="XRepliesNawfal">Replies containing "wordsofiron" to [https://x.com/MarioNawfal/status/1719534365191839976 Mario Nawfal's post of 1 November 2023], found by X full-archive search on 21 October 2026; examples: [https://x.com/offerrossman/status/1722249111418884398 1], [https://x.com/GuyC47511653/status/1720110424207568911 2], [https://x.com/offerrossman/status/1722248945701986503 3], [https://x.com/RonenTalya/status/1719781035796246976 4]. Primary.</ref> | ||
| + | <ref name="XRepliesRoytman">Replies containing "wordsofiron" to [https://x.com/SachaRoytman/status/1721935174546407504 Sacha Roytman's post of 7 November 2023], found by X full-archive search on 21 October 2026; examples: [https://x.com/offerrossman/status/1723359081346347015 1], [https://x.com/NettaGranot/status/1726635714555842596 2], [https://x.com/PatentChat/status/1726966482742259933 3]. Primary.</ref> | ||
| + | <ref name="XRepliesLantsman">Replies containing "wordsofiron" to [https://x.com/MelissaLantsman/status/1776752834857382281 Melissa Lantsman's post of 6 April 2024], found by X full-archive search on 21 October 2026: [https://x.com/HMallin71768/status/1779471414304686112 1], [https://x.com/TamarKleinbi/status/1790030383993459103 2]. Primary.</ref> | ||
</references> | </references> | ||
Revision as of 06:25, 21 October 2026
Pro-Israel social-media tool launched in October 2023 that generated pre-written replies and mass reports; its founder described it as part of a joint initiative with Israeli government bodies
| Words of Iron
| |
|---|---|
| Type | Online tool (website and Chrome extension) |
| Founded | October 2023 |
| Founder(s) | Shaked Lokits (software engineer); developed with the Israel Tech Guard volunteer group and the start-up Akooda |
| Website | wordsofiron.com |
Words of Iron (WOI) was a website that helped social-media users promote pro-Israel posts and mass-report posts it labelled "false" or "anti-Israel". It was launched in the first days of the Gaza war in October 2023.[1][2] Israel's Ministry of Diaspora Affairs lists it as the first entry in its Iron Web directory, as "A platform enabling the reporting of antisemitic content and the boosting of pro-Israeli posts with a single click".[3]
Links to the Israeli state
Ctech reported in October 2023 that the founder, Shaked Lokits, worked with contacts "within government". It said: "Words of Iron is one of several projects in a joint initiative between the National Information Directorate, the Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, other government offices and tech companies called 'IsraelTechGuards'".[1] Lokits told the paper that "We need to build systems that will enable our governmental bodies to move forward after these initial weeks have passed".[1]
The Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab) found that the tool was created by Israel Tech Guard. An archived version of that group's website said it was "working in close cooperation with the IDF and security services".[2][4] The ministry's own Iron Web directory still promoted the tool in October 2026.[3]
How it worked
The archived site invited users to "Boost Israel's Voice on Social Media with a Single Click". Users were offered "a pre-set text written by our team" to post under selected pro-Israel content, or asked to report content.[5] Ctech said the Akooda start-up team, led by its chief technology officer Itamar Niddam, built the system. Niddam said it took in posts "from various sources (including Israeli official entities)" and "even produces pro-Israel content for them using AI".[6]
DFRLab found that between 10 October 2023 and 10 March 2024 the hashtag #wordsofiron appeared "over 40,000 times in posts by more than 5,000 unique users". It identified "at least two hundred accounts created after the October 7 attacks, some created minutes apart from each other, that amplified WOI messaging". It noted that Israel's Deputy Consul in Miami posted text consistent with WOI messaging. In January 2024 the tool added an "Auto Pilot" Chrome extension.[2]
The Washington Post reported that the tool encouraged users to mass-report a post saying Jesus was Palestinian. The creator of that post said her reach had afterwards been restricted.[7] MintPress News wrote that Israel Tech Guard "collaborated with the Israeli National Information Directorate and the Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism to launch Words of Iron".[8] (Critical.)
Ready-made replies and Auto Pilot
An early version of the site, archived on 12 October 2023, described itself as an "Automation system for Israel supportive content publishing".[9] The script behind the reply page, archived on 2 and 14 November 2023, held a fixed list of 13 replies. The tool picked one, added the hashtags "#bringthemhome #wordsofiron", and opened X's reply box with the text filled in. The list included "I stand in solidarity with Israel.", "Hamas must go - for Israel AND for Gaza!", "If it looks like ISIS, murders like ISIS and beheads like ISIS, it's ISIS. #HamasisISIS" and "Please pray for the 241 hostages! #BringThemHomeNow". The hostage figure was 203 in the 2 November version and 241 in the 14 November version.[10][11] The same 13 replies were still in use in February 2024.[12]
By 26 December 2023 the site's text included an "Auto Pilot" button and an "Automat Mode" screen: "All you have to do is take a break and relax - We will do it for you :)". Users could tick "like", "comment" and "save" before pressing "2... 3... La-unch". The progress messages ended with "Wow, you're a Hasbara hero!"[13] DFRLab described this as a badge awarded when users reached a daily target.[2] By February 2024 the reply page told users "First, install our plugin" and linked to a Chrome Web Store extension listed as "words-of-iron-automation".[12]
Posts selected for amplification
The posts offered to users on X came from a feed at wordsofiron.com/api/posts. The Wayback Machine holds copies captured on 2 November 2023, 14 November 2023 and 30 July 2024. Together they list 250 entries, linking to posts by 126 accounts.[14][15][16] A listing shows that Words of Iron picked a post for amplification. It does not by itself show that the account holder knew about it or took part.
The accounts include the Israel Defense Forces, StandWithUs (seven posts), Israel's embassy in Washington, Eylon Levy, then an Israeli government spokesman, Hillel Neuer of UN Watch, Michael Dickson of StandWithUs, Douglas Murray and Brigitte Gabriel. They also include the news aggregator Mario Nawfal, Sacha Roytman, chief executive of the Combat Antisemitism Movement, the Canadian Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman, US Senators John Fetterman and Jacky Rosen, and news outlets such as AP, The Wall Street Journal, the New York Post and Bild.[14][15][16]
Replies using the tool's texts and the #wordsofiron hashtag can still be found under some of the listed posts:
| Account | Post | Feed (capture) | #wordsofiron replies found on X (21 October 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mario Nawfal | 1 November 2023: two children who "hid in a closet at home while Hamas killed their parents" (citing Channel 12) | Dated 1 November 2023 (2 November 2023 capture)[14] | 83 replies from 55 accounts, 1–8 November 2023. They used the "203 hostages" text up to 4 November and the "241 hostages" text from 5 November, as in the two versions of the script.[17] |
| Sacha Roytman (Combat Antisemitism Movement) | 7 November 2023: "You can't erase the truth." | Dated 7 November 2023 (14 November 2023 capture)[15] | 63 replies from 43 accounts, 8–21 November 2023, nearly all word for word from the list[18] |
| Melissa Lantsman | 6 April 2024: "Peaceful protester wearing a pretend suicide vest at the #AlQudsDay rally in Toronto" | Dated 7 April 2024, intent "support", region "NA" (30 July 2024 capture)[16] | 2 replies, one using the text "The world must unite in support for Israel"[19] |
These counts are minimums, because X search does not return deleted posts or suspended accounts.
See also
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Ariela Karmel, Words of Iron: Combating propaganda and documenting the brutality of Hamas' crimes Ctech, 12 October 2023. Journalistic.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Online tool helps social media accounts amplify pro-Israel messages Digital Forensic Research Lab, Atlantic Council, 11 June 2024. Research.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, Iron Web govextra.gov.il, accessed 20 October 2026. Official (primary).
- ↑ Israel Tech Guard, Home page (archived 25 October 2023) Wayback Machine. Partisan.
- ↑ Words of Iron, Home page (archived 14 November 2023) Wayback Machine. Partisan.
- ↑ Omer Hacohen, The Akooda team's innovative Words Of Iron advocacy project has become an online "Iron Dome" for Israel Ctech, 16 November 2023. Journalistic.
- ↑ Taylor Lorenz, Growing number of apps help automate pro-Israel activism online The Washington Post, 25 January 2024. Journalistic.
- ↑ Jessica Buxbaum, Free Speech Under Fire: How Israel's Tech Guard Is Killing Free Speech Online MintPress News, 2024. Critical.
- ↑ Words of Iron, Site script (archived 12 October 2023) Wayback Machine, accessed 21 October 2026. Primary.
- ↑ Words of Iron, Reply page script (archived 2 November 2023) Wayback Machine, accessed 21 October 2026. Primary.
- ↑ Words of Iron, Reply page script (archived 14 November 2023) Wayback Machine, accessed 21 October 2026. Primary.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Words of Iron, Reply page script (archived 23 February 2024) Wayback Machine, accessed 21 October 2026. Primary.
- ↑ Words of Iron, Site text strings (archived 26 December 2023) Wayback Machine, accessed 21 October 2026. Primary.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Words of Iron, X "share" feed (archived 2 November 2023) Wayback Machine, accessed 21 October 2026. Primary.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Words of Iron, X "share" feed (archived 14 November 2023) Wayback Machine, accessed 21 October 2026. Primary.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Words of Iron, X "share" feed (archived 30 July 2024) Wayback Machine, accessed 21 October 2026. Primary.
- ↑ Replies containing "wordsofiron" to Mario Nawfal's post of 1 November 2023, found by X full-archive search on 21 October 2026; examples: 1, 2, 3, 4. Primary.
- ↑ Replies containing "wordsofiron" to Sacha Roytman's post of 7 November 2023, found by X full-archive search on 21 October 2026; examples: 1, 2, 3. Primary.
- ↑ Replies containing "wordsofiron" to Melissa Lantsman's post of 6 April 2024, found by X full-archive search on 21 October 2026: 1, 2. Primary.