An Apocalyptic Chinese Doomsday Cult Is Using AI to Evangelize Jews in Israel
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A Christian doomsday cult of Chinese exiles is behind a widespread influence operation that made use of AI-generated content to try to evangelize Jewish Israelis online, according to researchers from the Israel Internet Association.
The Church of Almighty God, also known as Eastern Lightning, is a messianic, apocalyptic sect that seeks to persuade millions online to convert to its brand of Christianity. Its followers believe that Jesus was resurrected in the form of a 70-year-old Chinese woman. The church was founded in the early 1990s in China, where authorities eventually designated it a cult and banned it. This led to the persecution of its members and the emigration of thousands, many of whom sought asylum in the West.
For years, the church has operated an extensive digital network of websites to disseminate its messages. Now, Israeli researchers have found social media accounts, TikTok pages and WhatsApp groups linked to the church’s local branch. They distribute, among other things, AI-generated “Torah lessons” in Hebrew which are, essentially, thinly veiled sermons preaching the church’s gospel to unwitting Israelis.
Signs of its activity in Israel were detected several months ago by researchers from the Israeli online intelligence company Intercept, which tracks, maps and counters disinformation for corporate and state clients. Their findings, reported in Haaretz, identified social media accounts and WhatsApp groups operated from abroad that published religious content in Hebrew aimed at a religiously observant Israeli audience. The firm believed this was the first stage of a wider, political operation, that initially only sought to attract followers. For example, the network created fake Facebook groups masquerading as well-known, legitimate pages, including “Mothers Cooking Together,” which amassed 13,000 members.
Content retrieved from: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/security-aviation/2025-12-18/ty-article/an-apocalyptic-chinese-doomsday-cult-is-using-ai-to-evangelize-jews-in-israel/0000019b-2bf0-d8f0-a9db-6ffcc7fd0000.
