A British newspaper has revealed details about a network led by a businessman targeting supporters of Palestine in international forums and solidarity events.
The businessman in the technology sector, identified as Daniel Linden residing in Florida, has formed a network that promotes support for Israeli occupation.
According to a journalist from The Guardian, Linden is the driving force behind the Shirion Collective, a misleading group supportive of Israeli occupation, aiming to shape public opinion on the Gaza conflict in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
The Shirion Collective has harassed pro-Palestinian activists, including many Jews, offering rewards for identifying demonstrators supporting Palestinians, and spreading conspiracy theories involving figures like George Soros, boasting about an artificial intelligence surveillance platform.
Linden played a central role in operating the network’s social media accounts, coordinating group efforts on Telegram, and organizing crowdfunding efforts for Shirion. Public records and online sources indicate he resides in Gainesville, Florida, but has spent short periods in Durango, Colorado, and Medellin, Colombia.
Heidi Beirich, a senior official at the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, commented on Linden’s Shirion campaign as having “clear deception” among extremists, stating, “His ideology seems extremely muddled, but he spreads messages of hate regardless.”
These revelations shed light on the nature of Shirion, criticized in the U.S. Congress and drawing global media attention for its response to criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza.
“Surveillance Network”
The Shirion Collective emerged online in late 2023 on platforms including X, Telegram, and GoFundMe to coordinate pro-Israeli propaganda and anti-Palestinian activities, harassing pro-Palestinian demonstrators in the West.
Describing itself as a “collective monitoring group” and “surveillance network,” Shirion searches for “digital fingerprints” to track what mainstream media does not vigorously cover, highlighting and exposing anti-Semitism.
On Telegram, Shirion hosts a private channel with 885 members, divided into rooms for discussing events in specific regions (such as Canada and Latin America) or coordinating online activities, including collective reporting on X accounts.
Shirion organized two GoFundMe fundraising campaigns in April and May 2024, raising over $57,000, including a $10,000 anonymous donation, targeting university campuses across American cities with truck displays.
This move attracted criticism, including from Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who spoke out in Congress against Shirion’s footage shown at protest camps at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Financial Incentives
Starting in late 2023 on X, Shirion began offering what it described as “bounties” to identify individuals participating in pro-Palestinian protests whom they labeled as anti-Semitic.
A post dated November 29 on X announced the “Informed Against Anti-Semitism” plan promising “cash rewards for excellent insider information.”
Accompanying graphics detailed various rewards escalating with the target’s professional stature, ranging from $500 for identifying a student to $10,000 for a politician, urging supporters to “tag and share to spread the word.”
By December 3, Shirion was offering a $500 reward, later increased to $1,500, for identifying protesters whom Shirion claimed participated in “genocide chants.”
