Israel targets US in secret influence campaign
The campaign hit US lawmakers with pro-Israel and anti-Muslim messaging


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.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
October 5 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include half-truth hucksters, Capitol lockdown, and more
-
Jaguar Land Rover’s cyber bailout
Talking Point Should the government do more to protect business from the ‘cyber shockwave’?
-
Russia: already at war with Europe?
Talking Point As Kremlin begins ‘cranking up attacks’ on Ukraine’s European allies, questions about future action remain unanswered
-
‘Conspiracy theories about her disappearance do a disservice’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
‘This isn’t just semantics’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
‘People may use the same tactics for very different reasons’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
The Liberal Democrats: on the march?
Talking Point After winning their highest number of seats in 2024, can the Lib Dems marry ‘stunts’ with a ‘more focused electoral strategy’?
-
Should Tony Blair run Gaza?
Today's Big Question Former PM is a key figure in plans for a post-war Palestine and could take up a formal leadership position
-
UN panel finds Israeli genocide in Gaza
Speed Read The report found that Israeli leaders had committed ‘four of the five “genocidal acts”’ prohibited under the U.N. Genocide Convention
-
How Benjamin Netanyahu shaped Israel in his own image
The Explainer He has seldom been personally popular, but ‘King Bibi’ is an exceptionally shrewd operator