Citizen Lab reveals BlackCore trained Angolan officials in covert influence ops
University of Toronto researchers document Israeli contractor's 14-week program teaching government employees to run fake social media campaigns.
What to know
- BlackCore, an Israeli contractor, trained Angolan government officials in running coordinated online influence operations using fake social media accounts and a fictional news outlet.
- The 14-week program produced over 40 pieces of content with some deceptive posts reaching 50,000 likes on Facebook in a country with 6 million active users.
- BlackCore has been documented by French authorities and researchers conducting election interference campaigns in France, New York, Scotland, Togo, and Angola since at least February 2026.
- The company has since taken its websites and social media accounts offline; researchers found no evidence of how it was hired or paid, and the Angolan government has not responded to inquiries.
BlackCore's methods and scale demonstrate a sophisticated, coordinated influence-for-hire industry that poses real threats to democratic processes.
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“caught an "elite" Israeli # propaganda co using an open Google Sheet to track an op”
KimPerales@toad.social · Mastodon ↗
“positive government campaigns" and included narratives intended to portray the Angolan government "in a positive light”
Alberto Fittarelli, Citizen Lab senior researcher · The Record ↗
Citizen Lab Research organization that conducted investigationBlackCore Israeli influence-for-hire companyAlberto Fittarelli Citizen Lab senior researcherViginum French governmental election interference watchdogAngolan government Apparent client of BlackCore
How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlesposts
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Citizen Lab publishes detailed investigation of BlackCore's Angola operation
Researchers at the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab released a comprehensive research note analyzing BlackCore's digital infrastructure and describing a covert training program for Angolan government officials. The program produced over 40 pieces of content and included coordinated campaigns using fake accounts centered on a fictitious media outlet called "Agita News," with some deceptive posts receiving 20,000 to 50,000 likes.
“an elite influence, cyber, and technology firm built for the modern era of information warfare…”
— BlackCore -
first by Mastodon, 7d ago
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We🚨🚨🚨caught an "elite" Israeli # propaganda co using an open Google Sheet to track an op. Username? hjack5632@gmail.com. A BlackCore demo promised "dual track" ops to covertly suppress dissent: 🔴"Distraction campaigns during critical moments" 🔴"Coord rptg of policy violations" 🔴"Comment section dominance on news cov" Sought to deliver on…
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NEW: We @ citizenlab have a new report published today. It's an investigation into an Israel-based influence-for-hire company called BlackCore. We analyzed BlackCore's digital infrastructure and discovered a covert campaign the company ran for the government of Angola. https:// citizenlab.ca/research/blackco res-influence-operations-for-hire/
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background
French watchdog Viginum confirms BlackCore interference across multiple elections — France's election interference watchdog Viginum published reports confirming BlackCore's targeting of French municipal elections and revealing the company had also interfered in elections in New York, Scotland, Togo, and Angola.
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Reuters reports BlackCore's campaigns targeting French elections — Reuters published initial reporting on BlackCore's influence operations targeting audiences in France and other countries, with campaigns tied to the French municipal elections in March 2026. Follow-up reporting from Le Monde, Le Canard Enchaîné, Haaretz, and Libération provided additional details.
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background
BlackCore publicly advertises Angola campaign and broader capabilities — BlackCore's website displayed demo pages including demo.blackcore.online and angola-plan.blackcore.online, showing the company's services including hundreds of fake social media personas ("avatars") across Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, and tactics for coordinated messaging and narrative control.
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BlackCore begins Angola training program for government officials — BlackCore initiated a training course for Angolan government employees covering storytelling, copywriting, traffic management, and social media operations. The program was advertised online as a four-week intensive but ultimately lasted 14 weeks and included both training and supervised operational campaigns.