Report: Israeli Social Media Influence Campaign Allegedly Targeted US Lawmakers

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Facts

  • A report from The New York Times alleges that Israel's Ministry of Diaspora Affairs spent $2M on a social media influence campaign that encouraged US lawmakers to support Israel's war in Gaza.1
  • Citing four current and former Diaspora Affairs officials, the report claims the ministry hired the marketing firm Stoic to create hundreds of accounts posing as Americans — primarily targeting Black and Democratic lawmakers.2
  • Last week, Meta and OpenAI announced the removal of 510 Facebook and 32 Instagram accounts that reportedly originated in Israel and were run by Stoic, with OpenAI saying those accounts used AI tools to produce pro-Israel and anti-Hamas content.3
  • US House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) were allegedly intensely targeted and urged to continue approving military aid to Israel.1
  • This operation is also alleged to be behind three news sites that shared pro-Israel content that was then shared to platforms such as Reddit. This operation reportedly remains active on X, formerly known as Twitter.4
  • A alleged pro-Israel influence campaign on social media was first identified in March by Israeli watchdog FakeReporter, with The Times being the first to report it as a government-backed operation. The ministry has denied any connection to Stoic or the campaign.5

Sources: 1New York Times, 2Timesofisrael, 3Forbes, 4Jerusalem Post and 5Arabnews.

Narratives

  • Pro-Israel narrative, as provided by Tablet Magazine. Any alleged influence efforts at all wouldn't be necessary if Israel's allies grasped the unfair, toxic environment Israel is facing. Too many in the West are sympathizing with Hamas over Israel because of their moral failings and pro-Hamas social media influence. No connection to this alleged campaign is confirmed, but from a broader perspective, Israel has every right to conduct a robust public information campaign to ensure its survival.
  • Pro-Palestine narrative, as provided by Guardian. Now we know for certain that Israel is brazenly attempting to influence US politicians for the sake of its own interests. Israel and pro-Israel lobbying groups are increasing their efforts in desperation because of the unpopularity of the country's war in Gaza. This is an egregious violation of US national security — a foreign influence that wouldn't be tolerated if it were from any other country.

Predictions