Israel Conducts Large-Scale Covert Operation, NYT

Israel has conducted a mass covert operation aimed at influencing American society and authorities to bolster support for its actions in the Gaza Strip. Experts believe this is the first documented case of the Jewish state attempting to sway opinion in the U.S., according to the New York Times, which cites Israeli officials and documents related to the operation.

“Israel organized and financed an influence campaign last year aimed at American lawmakers and the U.S. public to increase support for its actions against Gaza,” the publication reports.

Four Israeli officials have stated that the operation was organized by Israel's Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, which is responsible for relations with Jewish communities worldwide. To implement this, authorities allocated $2 million and hired the Tel Aviv-based company Stoic, which specializes in political marketing.

According to the New York Times, the operation began in October 2023, just weeks after the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and continues to this day. “Dozens of Israeli tech startups” received letters, some of which were sent from government addresses, urging them to become “digital soldiers” for the Jewish state.

In an effort to influence American society, hundreds of fake accounts on social media were activated to post pro-Israel comments, the newspaper notes. They particularly targeted American lawmakers, especially Democrats, including Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic minority leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, urging them to continue supporting the Israeli army.

Artificial intelligence, specifically the ChatGPT chatbot, was employed to write pro-Israel content, and three seemingly news websites were created to publish it. The outlets reportedly reshaped media materials, including those from CNN and the Wall Street Journal, to promote the Israeli agenda regarding operations in Gaza.

As stated by the New York Times, experts call this operation the first confirmed case of the Israeli leadership conducting a campaign to influence U.S. authorities. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs denies any involvement and connection to the Stoic company.