Iranian bot campaign targets Nova festival massacre survivors with severe online abuse, propaganda

Survivors of the October 7 Supernova music festival massacre are enduring a relentless online onslaught from suspected Iranian bots, according to a report by Fighting Online Antisemitism (FOA). The campaign allegedly targets the 364 victims murdered and dozens taken hostage, bombarding them with abusive comments and videos.

The FOA report details a "sustained and multi-layered digital campaign" where bot accounts question the validity of the survivors' experiences and promote false narratives aimed at justifying the massacre. These posts have included calls for survivors' deaths and have amplified conspiracy theories surrounding the event.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is identified as the likely source of this online abuse, leveraging sophisticated cyber operations against perceived enemies. The IRGC has a documented history of using cyber warfare for intelligence gathering, impacting public opinion, and attacking critical infrastructure.

Platforms like X/Twitter and TikTok are highlighted as major hubs for this harassment, spreading antisemitic memes and mocking civilian suffering. The report notes that propaganda from Iranian bots has increasingly influenced real-world discourse, fueling denialism and false-flag narratives about the October 7 events.