A network of inauthentic social media accounts, assessed by researchers as most likely operated by an Israeli government entity or contractor, spent months deployingAI-generated deepfakes and fabricated personasto incite Iranians into revolting against their government.
The operation, codenamed PRISONBREAK by researchers at the University of Toronto'sCitizen Lab, was documented in a report published on 2 October 2025 and co-authored with Darren Linvill of Clemson University.
Running parallel to it, an investigation by Israeli outletsHaaretz and TheMarkerexposed a separate but linked Israeli-funded campaign that manufactured fake Persian-speaking online personas to amplify support for Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran's deposed Shah, as a regime-change figurehead.
Citizen Lab's report, designated Report No. 189, identified a coordinated cluster of more than 50 inauthentic accounts on X (formerly Twitter), all created in 2023 but largely dormant until January 2025. The accounts, Citizen Lab found, activated in synchrony with the military campaign that Israel launched against Iran on 13 June 2025, known as the Twelve-Day War, which targeted nuclear facilities, military infrastructure, and senior Iranian officials.
The clearest evidence of coordination came on 23 June 2025, when the Israel Defense Forces struck Tehran's Evin Prison, a facility notorious for holding political prisoners. At 11:52 a.m. Tehran time, just minutes after the bombardment began, a PRISONBREAK-linked account posted anAI-generated deepfake videopurporting to show a direct hit on the prison's entrance.
Holy fucking batman!!An Israeli-linked project called “Generative AI for Good” creates AI-generated portrayals of Iranian “victims” to stir support for regime change. They held a conference in New York last week, here’s a clip from one of their recent videos.pic.twitter.com/GGqV3GgZsm
A second account shared the fabricated footage at 12:05 p.m. while the strikes were still ongoing. Citizen Lab's researchers concluded that the timing 'points towards the conclusion that it was part of a premeditated and well-synchronised influence operation,' with operators demonstrating apparent foreknowledge of the Israeli military's plans.
The deepfake video gained significant traction: the post that included it accrued more than 46,000 views and 3,500 likes. Within 90 minutes of the video being posted, accounts in the network shifted to explicitly urging Tehran's residents to march on the prison and free those held inside. Accompanying posts falsely reassured readers that the area was safe and that the attack had ended, framing the strike as an opportunity for popular uprising.
How come they all have the exact same head shot from the exact same photo shoot? Did they all get these professional photos taken together? Or just another coincidence I'm sure.pic.twitter.com/ZCCRSain00
The network's AI use was not limited to the prison footage. According to Citizen Lab, it also produced deepfake representations of three Iranian singers who had been imprisoned for their role in the 2022-23 'Woman, Life, Freedom' protests: Mehdi Yarrahi, Toomaj Salehi, and Shervin Hajipour. The network used AI to alter a known Iranian protest song and paired the manipulated audio with the fabricated likenesses of the artists, all of whom are real people who faced genuine persecution under the Iranian government.
Source: International Business Times UK
