A controversial tweet from Melissa Lantsman, a member of Parliament and the deputy leader of the Conservative Party, was amplified by an organization linked to the Israeli government.
On April 6, 2024, Lantsman tweeted a photo of a pro-Palestine protester with the following caption: “Peaceful protester wearing a pretend suicide vest at the [Al Quds Day] rally in Toronto. No big deal. This morally bankrupt Liberal government has decided this is the Canada they want. [...] Everyone else hears your silence [Justin Trudeau].”
The “vest” in question was actually a belt to hold canisters for coloured smoke, which have been used in many protests for the aesthetic effect. The tweet drew widespread criticism, with many users suggesting the protester should consider suing Lantsman for alleged defamation.
Lantsman’s tweet, however, appears to have been viewed more positively by Words of Iron (WOI).
WOI is a project that was created on Oct. 7, 2023, to, in part, make it easier for social media users to amplify pro-Israel posts online. It likely drew its name from “Swords of Iron,” the title originally given to Israel’s post-Oct. 7, 2023, military campaign.
According to reporting from Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRL), the project worked as follows: “WOI helps coordinate and semi-automate social media users’ communication efforts by providing two options: either to ‘Share a response’ to pre-selected pro-Israeli posts or to ‘Report content’ that the site describes as ‘false’ or ‘anti-Israel.’ If a user decides to share a response, they are then provided copies of predetermined posts on Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok, alongside a feature that generates automated text and hashtags for the user to copy, paste, and post as a reply. Users can then press a button that takes them to the post. On X, if the user is logged in, the tool can automatically create replies that only require the user to press the publish button.”
DFRL adds, “The generated text includes language that encourages solidarity with Israel and Israeli hostages in Gaza, thanks supporters, counters claims against Israel, and targets Hamas, among other content.”
A YouTube account with a short video explaining the site remains live.
An archived copy of a page on the WOI website taken on July 30, 2024, and shared by online researcher S.B.S shows that Lantsman’s tweet was featured for amplification.
The page doesn’t show what stock message WOI provided to share with the tweet. The Maple also does not have access to a full list of posts WOI marked for amplification. However, DFRL analysis found that nine of the top-10 boost recipients were American and European leaders and politicians.
The site also featured posts from critics of Israel, ranging from Norman Finkelstein to Mia Khalifa, for users to report and critique.
WOI has links to the Israeli government.
In October 2023, CTech, an Israeli tech publication, published an interview with the founder of WOI.
The article notes: “Words of Iron is one of several projects in a joint initiative between the National Information Directorate, the Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, other government offices and tech companies called ‘IsraelTechGuards.’”
A 2009 article from The Guardian described the National Information Directorate as a “special spin body” that “gets media on message.” At the time, the chief of the directorate said, “The hasbara apparatus needed a body that would co-ordinate its agencies, coordinate the messages and become a platform for co-operation between all the agencies that deal with communication relations and public diplomacy.”
The Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism has a stated purpose of “fostering the connection between world Jewry and the State of Israel, through joint activities and ongoing dialogue, since the Israeli government sees itself as being responsible for all Jews worldwide, whether they live in Israel or the Diaspora.”
Israel Tech Guard (ITG), meanwhile, is an organization that provided support to many pro-Israel projects, including, but not limited to, WOI.
An archived copy of the ITG website describes the organization as a “collaboration of Israeli developers, AI specialists, tech founders, project managers, and coders,” with more than 1,000 volunteers who are “experienced tech and intelligence people who have led and worked in successful start-ups and were trained in elite technology units in the IDF.”
The site adds, “Israel’s intelligence forces are working tirelessly. But we know they cannot do it alone. We are working in close cooperation with the Prime Minister’s Office and IDF and security services to fill in the gaps and allow our colleagues to do their jobs more effectively.”
In 2024, Mint Press News reported that another project undertaken by ITG was done in collaboration with Unit 9900, which they describe as an “Israeli military intelligence corps whose work is classified.”
ITG was also praised in the Jerusalem Post by a representative of Elbit Systems, an Israeli arms company that has been the target of protests and divestment campaigns. Elbit was described as a “beneficiary” of ITG’s work.
The WOI and ITG websites are both defunct, with the former now directing to a legal practice in Kazakhstan and the latter available to purchase from a reseller.
A DFRL researcher told Mint Press News that the WOI hashtag was used by more than 1 million accounts by March 2024, but that engagement dipped by October of that year. They added, however, that, “Despite not having a lasting impact, Words of Iron represent an evolution in digital propaganda during wars showing a more advanced operation than previous efforts.”
The DFRL researcher remained anonymous and the author(s) of the publication’s feature on WOI used a pen name due to “safety reasons.”
The Maple reached out to Lantsman to ask: if she’s aware her post was boosted by WOI, if she stands by her characterization of the protester in it and if she faced any legal action as a result of the tweet. She didn’t respond.
In November 2023, Lantsman travelled to Israel with four other MPs on a “solidarity” mission.
At the time, she said, “I think it’s important that we show solidarity with the people of Israel for what happened on Oct. 7, for their resolve going forward, for the eventuality of rebuilding, and for the rest of the world, including those in Canada, to never forget this.” The CBC reported that she also said she’d “like to see Trudeau present a more consistent position that supports Israel’s ‘right and obligation’ to defend itself.”
Lantsman has appeared in past Maple reporting as one of the top 10 MPs lobbied by the Centre For Israel and Jewish Affairs from October 2023 to April 2024.
