A new analysis of social media activity during the opening days of Operation Epic Fury suggests that much of the online backlash and anti-Israel content may not have been driven by Americans at all.

The report identified recurring narratives pushed by foreign-based accounts, including claims that the operation was a «betrayal of MAGA,» «highly unpopular with the American people» and carried out «on behalf of Israel.»

Sixty percent of the most viral posts on X mentioning «Iran» during the first week of the operation originated from accounts based outside the United States — despite often presenting themselves as American voices, according to research conducted by Argyle Consulting Group, a private intelligence and data analysis firm.

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«These aren’t just random opinions,» Eran Vasker, CEO and co-founder of Argyle Consulting Group, told Fox News Digital. 

«What we’re seeing is discourse that looks American — written in English, using U.S. political language — but is actually coming from outside the country … almost impossible for a regular user to detect,» Vasker said, explaining that the accounts «look very American» and mirror domestic political language and debates.

The analysis examined 100 highly X viral posts — each with more than 10,000 shares — between Feb. 28 and March 7. In total, posts containing the word «Iran» generated 98 million posts, 696.4 million interactions, and an estimated 1.5 trillion potential views, making it one of the largest online information events on record. 

Foreign accounts alone generated 155.6 million views, compared to 93.4 million from U.S.-based accounts, outpacing them by more than 60 million views in the sample.

Even more striking, every single foreign-based post in the dataset was negative toward the operation, while the only supportive content came from U.S.-based users, Argyle found. 

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Among the most influential voices driving engagement, seven of the top 10 accounts were based outside the United States, including accounts linked to Russia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and South Asia, Argyle found.  (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)

JP Castellanos, Binary Defense director of threat intelligence and a former member of U.S. Central Command’s Active Cyber Defense Team, said much of the activity is focused on Israel and combines disruption with messaging. 

«About 42% of the attacks that we’re seeing or the claims that we’re seeing online are directed toward Israel,» Castellanos said.

He also pointed to doxing campaigns and AI-generated videos «trying to basically shape the information space.»

Much of the challenge, Castellanos said, is distinguishing real cyber incidents from inflated online claims by hacktivist groups seeking attention.

«A lot of times, these are just claims that they put online,» he said. 

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Cyber threat analysts say that an online narrative campaign is unfolding alongside broader activity by pro-Iranian and aligned groups across the digital space. (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)

Researchers said the scale, consistency and geographic spread of the messaging point to a coordinated effort rather than organic global debate.

Cyber threat analysts say that an online narrative campaign is unfolding alongside broader activity by pro-Iranian and aligned groups across the digital space.

One of the most prominent groups to emerge in the current conflict, Castellanos said, is Handala, an Iran-linked hacking operation that has claimed responsibility for attacks on both U.S. and Israeli targets. 

Among the most influential voices driving engagement, seven of the top 10 accounts were based outside the United States, including accounts linked to Russia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and South Asia.

U.S. authorities and cybersecurity firms have linked Handala to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security, describing it as part of a broader effort combining cyberattacks with psychological and information operations.

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The report identified recurring narratives pushed by foreign-based accounts, including claims that the operation was a «betrayal of MAGA,» «highly unpopular with the American people» and carried out «on behalf of Israel.» (Asra Q. Nomani/Fox News Digital)

The cybersecurity researchers told Fox News Digital Handala is part of a wider network of Iran-aligned and pro-Russian hacktivist groups that have mobilized since the start of the war, blending disruptive cyber activity with narrative-shaping campaigns online.

Fox News Digital reached out to X multiple times, providing a list of the accounts in question per their request, but has not yet received a response.

Un buque nodriza

Planificadores militares

Operadores en la Bolsa de Dubai, Emiratos Árabes, mientras el precio del petróleo escala por la tensión en Oriente Medio. Foto: EFE

Cargueros con apoyo militar

FIRST ON FOX: Vice President JD Vance is ramping up the administration’s targeting of fraud after President Donald Trump appointed him to head an anti-fraud task force last week, including the implementation of an AI platform to quickly identify and address fraud. 

Vance’s task force is currently working with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, run by Dr. Mehmet Oz, and last month, CMS identified and suspended 70 hospice and home health providers in Los Angeles after they were flagged as high risk fraudulent providers. The 70 hospice and home health providers had their funding paused in just one week after being identified by the task force and CMS, Fox News Digital is told.

«As the task force to root out waste, fraud and abuse ramps up its work, we expect [the number of potentially fraudulent hospice and home health providers] to grow exponentially,» a source familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital.

Vance and Oz announced in February that $259.5 million in Medicaid funds would be withheld from Minnesota as a result of fraud concerns that gripped the state shortly before Governor Tim Walz, Kamala Harris’s former running mate, announced that he will not seek a third term.

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The task force is going beyond the targeting of Minnesota, and Trump suggested Democratic-led states would be a focus during the unveiling of the task force last week. 

«It seems that it’s usually in blue states,» the president said. «If it’s in a red state, we’re going there too, but it seems that it’s heavily, heavily Democrat.»

Vance’s task force plans to utilize the same template that CMS used to locate fraud in Minnesota, which involves an internal fraud detection artificial intelligence system that flags claims for review or blocks those identified as likely fraudulent.

Quality Learning Center in Minnesota was identified at the center of an alleged childcare fraud scandal in the state. (Madelin Fuerste/Fox News)

Prior to the Trump administration, Health and Human Services (HHS) and CMS would have to manually dis-enroll organizations suspected of fraud, whereas the system being utilized by the task force and other agencies involved allows the identification of fraud in a more rapid and fluid manner.

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The task force is actively hiring CMS technologists who will deploy the AI system across the country. 

«Vice President Vance looks forward to carrying out the President’s War on Fraud,» a Vance spokesperson told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement. «The American people deserve better than being ripped off by people who hate this country, and the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud will ensure that essential taxpayer-funded services are used to support the hard-working Americans who rely on them, instead of being used by fraudsters and criminals.»

Authorities in Minnesota launched a separate investigation in 2022, under the Biden Departmne of Justice, into the nonprofit Feeding Our Future, which prosecutors later described as a key player in what became one of the largest fraud schemes involving pandemic relief funds.

Working alongside Dr. Mehmet Oz’s CMS, the task force recently helped suspend 70 high-risk hospice and home health providers in Los Angeles, halting their funding within a week. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

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Over time, investigators uncovered about $250 million in fraudulent claims, and 78 individuals were eventually charged. Prosecutors have also suggested that the total amount connected to the broader scheme could be in the billions. 

During an event in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, earlier this month, Vance responded to a question by Fox News Digital regarding fraud ahead of Trump’s executive order establishing the anti-fraud task force. 

Vance said that the administration has uncovered fraud amounting to «$19 billion at least» since the administration has been investigating the Twin Cities, and he alluded to California as being the next big target for identifying fraud.

The initiative is expanding beyond Minnesota — where hundreds of millions in Medicaid funds were withheld — while signaling a broader focus on fraud in Democratic-led states. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

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«We know there’s a lot of fraud in California, and we’re trying to get to the bottom of exactly what it looks like and what we’ve done in the Trump administration,» Vance said in response to a question by Fox News Digital.

«And the president has really empowered us to do this, is to take the first national look at the way the American people have been defrauded over many, many years,» Vance added.