400 Fake Accounts Defend Jensen Huang as Spy Concerns Roil Nvidia

Q: Who secretly funded the coordinated bot network that rushed to defend Nvidia's CEO amid shocking espionage allegations?

No one has publicly identified the funder. The reporting says the source of money behind the coordinated pro-Huang bot network remains unknown. What is known is that investigators at the Midas Project traced many of the accounts to an influence network previously linked by Haaretz to a pro-Qatar campaign associated with aides to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The network also appeared connected to the Israeli PR firms Koios and possibly its apparent successor, IntellACT. But both firms denied involvement, and neither the Midas Project nor Nvidia said they had proof of who paid for the campaign. Nvidia itself said it had “no relationship” with the firms named in the investigation and that it was trying to identify who funded or organized the accounts but had not succeeded. The campaign’s messaging strongly favored Nvidia’s interests on chip exports to China and defended Jensen Huang personally, but that does not establish who secretly financed it. So the most accurate answer is that the backer has not been established publicly. The operation appears to trace through an Israeli-linked influence infrastructure, but the ultimate client or financier remains undisclosed and unproven.

3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Nov 12

At least 400 fake X accounts amplified defenses of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang after revelations about his affair with a woman suspected of being a Chinese intelligence asset.
Midas Project said the accounts replied to journalists, former officials and lawmakers, often echoing arguments that Huang is vital to U.S. AI leadership and backing Nvidia chip sales to China.
The campaign appeared coordinated: some accounts were linked to a past sockpuppet network, were created or refreshed in clusters, and then deleted posts after the findings surfaced; at least 260 have since been suspended or deactivated.
High-profile figures including Bill Ackman, Elon Musk and Ron Conway also publicly defended Huang, even as Nvidia's board weighs whether to oust him over the scandal and a reported second affair.
Nvidia said it was aware of the accounts and was trying to identify their source, but it remains unclear who orchestrated the effort around a CEO seen by many investors as central to America's AI edge.