Screenshots taken by freelance journalist Seamus Malekafzali and posted on his X account, showing advertisements seen on his Tinder application on Aug. 22, 2024. (Credit: @Seamus_Malek)
BEIRUT — On Aug. 22, an American journalist living in Beirut opened Tinder, a location-based dating platform, only to be confronted with an unusual advertisement from his own government's military.
Séamus Malekafzali was shown an ad, appearing to come from the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), “warning me against taking up arms against the United States and its partners,” Malekafzali told L’Orient Today.
The message, written in Arabic, read, “The United States will protect its partners in the face of threats by the Iranian regime and its proxies,” and was accompanied by images of warplanes and the logo for CENTCOM — the U.S. military command overseeing the Middle East and Central Asia.
Swiping right led Malekafzali to the original X post by CENTCOM, from Aug. 15.
“Do not take up arms against the United States or its partners," the ad said. "CENTCOM is fully prepared, with F-16 Fighting Falcons and supersonic A-10 Thunderbolts already in the region.” It appears to be that whoever created the ad confused the two, as F-16s are supersonic and A-10s are not.
F-16 and A-10 fighter jets have been present in the region since October and on Monday, the Pentagon extended the deployment of the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt and its accompanying strike group.
"We believe there is still a threat of attack, and we ... remain in a position to support Israel's defense and protect our forces if they were attacked," Pentagon spokesperson General Pat Ryder said during a press conference, according to an AFP report.
“I think it shows how the U.S. is continuing to flail in its communications about the war against Gaza,” Malekafzali said, “and it doesn't seem to know who it should be convincing and how.”
Tinder removed the ad after the Washington Post reached out on Thursday. Philip Fry, a spokesperson for the company, stated that it "violated policies" regarding violent and political content.
The American Embassy in Beirut referred L’Orient Today to CENTCOM which could not be reached for comment.
Is this CENTCOM's work?
The ad appeared at a time when tensions were especially high in the region. People were bracing themselves for Iran and Hezbollah's anticipated retaliation to the Israeli assassinations of a top Hezbollah commander and Hamas' political leader. On Aug. 25, almost one month later, Hezbollah eventually launched the “initial phase” of its response, firing over 300 rockets targeting Israel's primary military intelligence unit.
“To date, there is no confirmation from CENTCOM that this ad was actually theirs, and it is unlikely that we will receive a definitive answer,” Ralph Baydoun, director of research and strategic communications firm InflueAnswers, told L’Orient Today.
A U.S. official "familiar with the matter" told The Washington Post, in anonymity, that the recent ad on Tinder belonged to CENTCOM and claimed it was part of a broader psychological operations strategy in the region, not necessarily specific to Lebanon. A retired U.S. Army psyops officer proposed it could just be an error or "laziness."
Tinder doesn’t have its own platform for launching ads on its app, but ads can be purchased through Google, Facebook, and other advertising platforms and displayed on Tinder. According to the digital marketing agency WebFX, Google Ads can cost anywhere from $100 to $10,000 per month.
“Creating an ad on Tinder is relatively straightforward, and it’s notable that Tinder removed the ad once it was highlighted for violating the platform’s rules. I find it improbable that CENTCOM would overtly breach the rules of an American platform by blatantly displaying its logo,” Baydoun added.
A 2022 report from The Intercept revealed how CENTCOM was provided “direct approval and internal protection” from Twitter as it covertly ran accounts aimed at influencing public opinion in the region — posting in Arabic and specifically targeting Yemenis, Iraqis, and Syrians.
But Lebanon is a different landscape. “The U.S. has an active embassy in Lebanon and significant soft power influence,” Baydoun said. ”It does not require CENTCOM’s hard messaging to convey its positions, which can be effectively communicated through local stakeholders and diplomats.”
Instead, Baydoun believes the ad was designed and purchased by a third party, without specifying which, interested in imposing U.S. power. “This scenario strikes me as a potential false flag operation,” he said, “possibly designed to further strain relations between the Lebanese public and Americans in the region.”
Pro-Hezbollah newspaper al-Akhbar noted that the Tinder ad has drawn a sarcastic reaction among the Lebanese, with some saying that such a move is “a sign of weakness” and that its intended outcome would likely backfire.
Kassem Kassir, an analyst reputed to be close to Hezbollah told L’Orient Today that this is “possibly” a tactic by the Americans to intimidate Iran and its allies, known as the “Axis of Resistance” — a tactic that Kassir believes is ineffective.
