Digital Fragments Unveil Online Campaign to Flip Iranian Nuclear Scientists

Mysterious online campaign linked to Israel attempted to recruit Iranians to overthrow their government. Some appear placed by an Atlanta-based influencer.

Updated with a new, fifth Mossad recruitment ad, which was served in Germany following this article’s publication.

Desi Banks, an Atlanta comedian and content creator, is known for his light- hearted comic sketches and currently has more than nine million followers on the social media platform Instagram. There is no public record of Banks commenting on sensitive Middle East issues, and each of his 47 ad campaigns on Meta’s platforms relates to his work as an entertainer.

The comedian, who did not respond to repeated requests for comment, appears to have served a surprising role in an apparent Israeli intelligence operation over the last year to recruit members of Iran’s security and intelligence services – including those working in nuclear centers – into aiding the overthrow of their government. Would-be defectors were offered both money and the protection of their families.

Google advertising transparency records show that a production company owned by Banks, Desi Banks Productions LLC, served a set of five Persian-language recruitment ads across at least 19 countries, including the U.S., Sweden, France, Germany, India, and numerous others across the Middle East and Africa.

The fourth ad campaign included both overt and deceptive redirections into recruitment pages purporting to be run by Israel’s foreign intelligence services, the Mossad. Others advertise lucrative, tax-free jobs at apparently fictitious international consulting firms.

The most aggressive campaign redirected users to the Mossad’s official, Persian-language recruitment form, during the recent 12-day war between Israel and Iran, advising viewers to activate their virtual private network (VPN) before clicking. Google’s ad disclosure portal shows that the campaign linked to the Mossad’s official website, mossad.gov.il.