The Act.IL app assigns its users “missions” to advance Israel’s public image. These missions typically involve amplifying positive social media posts about Israel or, alternatively, bombarding unfavorable posts with negative comments and mass content moderation reports. By design, such actions are indistinguishable from organic social media activity. In internal documentation, Act.IL refers to this as a “no logo” strategy:

One of the most unique aspects in our activity is our “no-logo” strategy. The no-logo strategy allows anyone to use our content, [sic] and makes it easier than ever to reach audiences that aren’t necessarily pro Israel since they look at the content without a bias that is based on who created the content.

Each task yields a certain number of points. Rather than attempt to integrate with social media APIs (and potentially run afoul of anti-spamming rules), Act.IL relies on an honor system by which users track and report their own completed missions. Accumulating enough points earns a series of Bronze, Silver, and Gold-level badges in categories like “Resolute Redditer,” “Quora Questionner,” and “Intrepid Instagrammer.” The app’s roughly 17,500 registered accounts are ranked on a series of leaderboards.

A monthly leaderboard (left, names removed) tracks Act.IL’s most active users. Each mission awards points, which can be used to earn different badges (right). (Source: @etbrooking/DFRLab via Act.IL)

In addition to a steady supply of new missions, Act.IL provides users with a “library” of pro-Israel research and talking points. Many of these documents complement conventional Israeli public diplomacy goals by, for example, highlighting the success of the Israeli tourist industry or focusing on the terrible toll of Hamas terror attacks.

The archive also contains research dossiers on perceived anti-Israeli threats, some compiled using intrusive open-source intelligence techniques. The predominant focus of these documents is on the BDS movement and its embrace by some younger members of the Jewish diaspora. One such dossier, “Americans Inside Palestine Live (a Facebook Group),” systematically doxxes dozens of U.S. political activists over nearly 300 pages, all of whom are alleged by the author to “walk with Nazis.” Their profiles, friend lists, and posting and “like” history (sometimes five years’ worth) are scrutinized at length. None of this personally identifying information is redacted in the original documents.

The Act.IL app offers a “library” of pro-Israel images, videos, memes, and talking points (top), whose predominant focus is on the BDS movement. One research dossier (bottom, names removed) systematically doxxes dozens of U.S. political activists. (Source: Act.IL)

In its quest to generate positive attention for Israel, Act.IL has also generated attention for itself, much of which is negative. On Twitter, for instance, an account called “Behind Israel’s Troll Army” broadcasts each of Act.IL’s surreptitious missions to its 3,700 followers. Anti-Zionist and antisemitic commentators claim, frequently, that Act.IL is part of a deep-rooted Israeli conspiracy. In the face of such vitriol, Act.IL remains silent. The app does not even have a Twitter presence — or, at least, not a formal one.

Act.IL During the May 4–5 Hamas Terror Attacks and IDF Air Strikes

The DFRLab monitored Act.IL during May 4–5 and found that it initiated a coordinated influence campaign roughly 36 hours into the conflict. Rather than administer individual missions from the app, however, Act.IL created a special web-based landing page that could be publicly accessed and shared.

This landing page marked an attempt to centralize Act.IL messaging efforts. It provided users with downloadable infographics and talking points, as well as useful web links. It was stated that the page would be continually updated with new information and missions, although it never was.