A Guardian investigation has found that a Florida-based tech entrepreneur is the leader of a pro-Israel disinformation network attempting to shape public opinion about the Gaza conflict.
According to the investigation, Daniel Linden, who co-wrote a guidebook for OnlyFans users, was one of the key members of the Sirion Collective, a group that harassed pro-Palestinian activists and offered cash to those who publicly identified them online.
The organization has also been responsible for spreading conspiracy theories centered around figures like George Soros, and has boasted about its AI surveillance platform but has not revealed many specific details about how its technology works.
The Guardian said its investigation used public records and open-source materials “to corroborate information originally provided by the White Rose Society, an Australian anti-fascist research group.”
The Shirion Collective seeks to spread disinformation in the US, UK and Australia.
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According to the Guardian, Linden launched Sirion’s crowdfunding effort and appears to play a central role in running the network’s social media accounts, including coordinating the group’s activity on its 885-member Telegram channel.
He lives in Gainesville, Florida, but has also spent recent time in Durango, Colorado, and Medellin, Colombia, according to public records and online sources.
The Guardian said it tried to reach Linden and several addresses associated with his businesses for comment on the report via email, phone calls, text messages, direct messages on Reddit and a post tagging an X account linked to one of his businesses, but received no response.
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Sirion has been criticized in the U.S. Congress and has attracted worldwide media attention through its attempts to silence criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Shirion organized two GoFundMe fundraisers in April and May 2024 to support a campaign to have a truck equipped with a large screen monitor broadcast footage of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel near universities in various U.S. cities.
The move drew attention from critics, including Rep. Ilhan Omar, who spoke out in Congress against Sirion’s screening of the video at a protest camp at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Starting in late 2023, Sirion began offering “bounties” to identify individuals involved in allegedly anti-Semitic pro-Palestinian protests.
The group has repeatedly celebrated online the deaths of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including Palestinian journalists and children.
On April 27, Sirion responded to a video showing the destruction in Gaza by posting, “I love the way Gaza looks right now,” adding the initials “FAFO,” which stands for “Fuck around and find out.”
