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AIQuiet 5d · day 8

Iran and China deploy autonomous AI agents in influence campaigns

New report reveals first known cases of state-backed actors using Chinese AI models to automate social media manipulation at scale.

newest coverage 5d agosummary written 7d ago11 pieces4 likes & upvotes1 comments NewswiresRedditHacker NewsGoogle News

What to know

  • Iran and China deployed hundreds of autonomous AI agents on US social media platforms, marking the first known use of AI models to automate nearly entire influence campaigns at scale.
  • The campaigns used freely available Chinese open-source AI models to create fake accounts that autonomously posted about politics, coordinated messaging, and engaged with journalists and politicians.
  • Iran's operation reached nearly 80,000 followers with accounts posing as Americans, while Israeli private firms conducted separate AI agent campaigns during their elections.
  • US officials warn the campaigns demonstrate how publicly available AI systems can eliminate the human labor previously required for large-scale online manipulation operations.

“The campaigns were described as relatively crude but significant because they demonstrated how publicly available AI systems can automate operations that previously required substantial human involvement.”

Reporting sources, Cybersecurity researchers and officials · Anadolu Agency ↗ · Sep 18

Iran State-backed actorChina State-backed actorIntelEye Tel Aviv-based private companyUS intelligence agencies and cybersecurity researchers Investigators

Iran and China deploy autonomous AI agents in influence campaigns
Anadolu Agency

How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts

Peak 5 pieces in two hours at Sep 18, 10 AM; 11 pieces over 8 days (7 articles · 4 posts) Sep 18, 10 AM — 5 pieces · 5 articles — Newswires 3, Google News 2Sep 18, 12 PM — quietSep 18, 2 PM — 2 pieces · 2 posts — Hacker News 1, Reddit 1Sep 18, 4 PM — quietSep 18, 6 PM — quietSep 18, 8 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Sep 18, 10 PM — quietSep 19, 12 AM — quietSep 19, 2 AM — quietSep 19, 4 AM — quietSep 19, 6 AM — quietSep 19, 8 AM — quietSep 19, 10 AM — quietSep 19, 12 PM — quietSep 19, 2 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Reddit 1Sep 19, 4 PM — quietSep 19, 6 PM — quietSep 19, 8 PM — quietSep 19, 10 PM — quietSep 20, 12 AM — quietSep 20, 2 AM — quietSep 20, 4 AM — quietSep 20, 6 AM — quietSep 20, 8 AM — quietSep 20, 10 AM — quietSep 20, 12 PM — quietSep 20, 2 PM — quietSep 20, 4 PM — quietSep 20, 6 PM — quietSep 20, 8 PM — quietSep 20, 10 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Sep 21, 12 AM — quietSep 21, 2 AM — quietSep 21, 4 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Reddit 1Sep 21, 6 AM — quietSep 21, 8 AM — quietSep 21, 10 AM — quietSep 21, 12 PM — quietSep 21, 2 PM — quietSep 21, 4 PM — quietSep 21, 6 PM — quietSep 21, 8 PM — quietSep 21, 10 PM — quietSep 22, 12 AM — quietSep 22, 2 AM — quietSep 22, 4 AM — quietSep 22, 6 AM — quietSep 22, 8 AM — quietSep 22, 10 AM — quietSep 22, 12 PM — quietSep 22, 2 PM — quietSep 22, 4 PM — quietSep 22, 6 PM — quietSep 22, 8 PM — quietSep 22, 10 PM — quietSep 23, 12 AM — quietSep 23, 2 AM — quietSep 23, 4 AM — quietSep 23, 6 AM — quietSep 23, 8 AM — quietSep 23, 10 AM — quietSep 23, 12 PM — quietSep 23, 2 PM — quietSep 23, 4 PM — quietSep 23, 6 PM — quietSep 23, 8 PM — quietSep 23, 10 PM — quietSep 24, 12 AM — quietSep 24, 2 AM — quietSep 24, 4 AM — quietSep 24, 6 AM — quietSep 24, 8 AM — quietSep 24, 10 AM — quietSep 24, 12 PM — quietSep 24, 2 PM — quietSep 24, 4 PM — quietSep 24, 6 PM — quietSep 24, 8 PM — quietSep 24, 10 PM — quietYesterday, 12 AM — quietYesterday, 2 AM — quietYesterday, 4 AM — quietYesterday, 6 AM — quietYesterday, 8 AM — quietYesterday, 10 AM — quietYesterday, 12 PM — quietYesterday, 2 PM — quietYesterday, 4 PM — quietYesterday, 6 PM — quietYesterday, 8 PM — quietYesterday, 10 PM — quietToday, 12 AM — quietToday, 2 AM — quietToday, 4 AM — quietToday, 6 AM — quietToday, 8 AM — quietToday, 10 AM — quietToday, 12 PM — quiet 12
Sep 19Sep 20Sep 21Sep 22Sep 23Sep 24yesterdaynow · 1:19 PM ET
  1. 2

    Anadolu Agency reports US officials describe campaigns as first-of-their-kind

    US intelligence agencies, technology companies and security researchers confirmed the activity, with officials describing it as among the first known cases in which AI agents powered by Chinese models were used in nearly the entire process of an influence campaign.

    “US officials and researchers described the activity as among the first known cases in which AI agents powered by Chinese models were used in nearly the entire process of an influence campaign.”
    — US officials and researchers
    1. 2 outlets Iran, China used AI agents in novel influence campaigns: Report

      first by Anadolu Agency, 7d ago · also Indian Express

      1 more headline
  2. 1

    NYT reports Iran and China deployed autonomous AI influence campaigns

    The New York Times publishes investigation showing Iran and China, along with Israeli firms, used Chinese open-source AI models and AI agents to create autonomous influence campaigns on US social media platforms. The campaigns generated hundreds of fake accounts that autonomously posted about politics and current events.

    1. 2 outlets first by qz.com, 8d ago · also NYT · read ↗

  3. background

    Israeli firms ran separate AI agent campaigns — Two Israeli campaigns attributed to private companies were identified. One linked to Tel Aviv-based IntelEye involved AI agents controlling thousands of social media accounts during Israel's elections. The company characterized the activity as a defensive research experiment.

  4. background

    Iranian AI agents target US audiences with fake accounts — The Iranian campaign deployed AI-generated accounts posing as ordinary Americans in major cities. The accounts posted popular memes, tagged journalists and politicians, and promoted views critical of the Republican Party, reaching nearly 80,000 followers during the first half of 2026.