Israel’s Covert Campaign Targets U.S. Lawmakers to Shape Opinion on Gaza War

Palestinians inspect a scorched vehicle after an Israeli airstrike in the central Gaza Strip [Bashar Taleb/AFP]

June 06, 2024 Story by: Editor

Israel orchestrated a covert influence campaign last year aimed at U.S. lawmakers and the American public, promoting pro-Israel messages to garner support for its genocide in Gaza. This effort was led by Israel's Ministry of Diaspora Affairs , which connects Jews globally to Israel, according to four Israeli officials and related documents.

The ministry dedicated approximately $2 million to the operation and enlisted Stoic, a political marketing firm in Tel Aviv, to execute the campaign. Initiated in October, the campaign remains active on the platform X and employs hundreds of fake accounts posing as real Americans on X, Facebook, and Instagram to disseminate pro-Israel comments. The focus was particularly on Black Democratic lawmakers, including Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York and Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia, urging them to continue funding Israel’s military.

ChatGPT, an AI-powered chatbot, generated many of the posts, and the campaign also created three fake English-language news sites featuring pro-Israel content.

This operation, verified by The New York Times through current and former Ministry of Diaspora Affairs members and documents, is the first known instance of the Israeli government organizing such a campaign to influence the U.S. government. FakeReporter, an Israeli misinformation watchdog, identified the effort in March. Last week, Meta (which owns Facebook and Instagram) and OpenAI (the creator of ChatGPT) stated they had found and disrupted the operation.

The campaign underscores the extensive measures Israel is willing to take to shape American opinion on the Gaza conflict. Although the U.S. remains a staunch ally, with President Biden recently signing a $15 billion military aid package for Israel, the conflict has been unpopular with many Americans, prompting calls for Biden to withdraw support due to mounting civilian casualties in Gaza.

“Israel’s role in this is reckless and probably ineffective,” remarked Achiya Schatz, executive director of FakeReporter. He criticized Israel for running an operation that interferes in U.S. politics, calling it "extremely irresponsible."

Despite the campaign's covert nature, it had limited impact. Meta and OpenAI reported that the fake accounts accrued over 40,000 followers across X, Facebook, and Instagram, but many followers were likely bots, reducing the audience reach.

The operation began just weeks into the Gaza conflict, with Israeli tech start-ups receiving emails and WhatsApp messages inviting them to join urgent meetings to become “digital soldiers” for Israel. Some messages were from Israeli government officials, while others came from tech start-ups and incubators.

The initial meeting, held in mid-October in Tel Aviv, appeared to be an informal gathering where Israelis could volunteer their technical skills to support the war effort. Members of several government ministries participated, encouraging attendees to become “warriors for Israel” through “digital campaigns.”

The Ministry of Diaspora Affairs denied involvement in the campaign and any connection to Stoic, which did not respond to requests for comment.

The campaign targeted more than a dozen members of Congress, many of whom are Black Democrats. Representative Ritchie Torres of New York , known for his pro-Israel stance, was among those targeted. Fake accounts often commented on antisemitism and posted pro-Israel content on lawmakers' social media pages.

The campaign also created three fake news sites, including Non-Agenda and UnFold Magazine, which repurposed content from outlets like CNN and The Wall Street Journal to support Israel’s position. These articles were then shared on Reddit to increase visibility.

Despite some sloppy execution, with mismatched profile pictures and inconsistent language, the campaign managed to publish numerous posts. In some cases, accounts with profile photos of Black men claimed to be “middle-aged Jewish women.” Source: The New York Times