Israel targets US in secret influence campaign

People hold signs and flags during 'March For Israel' at the National Mall

The effort "signals the lengths Israel was willing to go to sway American opinion on the war in Gaza"

(Image credit: Noam Galai / Getty Images)

published 6 June 2024

What happened

Israel organized and funded a covert influence campaign targeting U.S. lawmakers and the American public with pro-Israel and anti-Muslim messaging through fake news and social media accounts, The New York Times and Haaretz said Wednesday. Documents show Israel's Ministry of Diaspora Affairs hired the Tel Aviv marketing firm Stoic after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack. Its campaign mainly targeted Black Democratic lawmakers and young progressives.

Who said what

Stoic's AI-driven effort was "sloppy" and "didn’t have a widespread impact," but it "signals the lengths Israel was willing to go to sway American opinion on the war in Gaza," the Times said.

"Israel's role in this is reckless and probably ineffective," said Achiya Schatz at FakeReporter, the Israeli misinformation watchdog that uncovered the operation, to the Times. The Ministry of Diaspora Affairs denied involvement. But one Israeli intelligence source told Haaretz "it's not surprising" that one of the subcontractors Israel hired to get "digital content up very fast" after Oct. 7 "was caught in the end."

What next?

Meta said last week it took down hundreds of Facebook and Instagram accounts tied to the operation, but it "remains active on the platform X," the Times said.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.