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🇮🇱 Israel /Elections & Politics

Israel's $50 million influence campaign: A costly gamble on trust

From Jerusalem Post · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

Opinion Sources not specified Context piece
  • Israel is reportedly spending $50 million on an American influence campaign using AI-generated messages and online influencers.
  • The campaign aims to shape American opinion on Israel, Iran, and global security, drawing criticism for its outsourced nature and lack of trust-building.
  • The author argues Israel should invest in its own credibility rather than relying on short-term campaigns, comparing the situation to contaminated information pipelines.

Israel is reportedly investing approximately $50 million in an American influence campaign that utilizes artificial-intelligence-generated text messages, conservative media outlets, online influencers, and even former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale. The campaign, revealed by The Wall Street Journal, has seen millions of Americans receive messages from individuals named "Emma" or "Sarah," inquiring about their views on Israel, Iran, and global security.

We just want to explain Israel to you.

— Robots in cartoon analogyRepresenting the superficial explanation offered in the influence campaign.

This initiative comes shortly after U.S. Vice President JD Vance accused some Israeli officials of attempting to manipulate American opinion to prolong the Iran conflict and hinder U.S. diplomacy. The author contends that while Israel is justified in defending itself on the "cognitive battlefield," the failure lies not in the investment amount but in the approach. The criticism focuses on Israel's perceived failure to expose detractors running campaigns against it in America and its treatment of national security as a marketing challenge outsourced to external agencies.

While $50 million can purchase messages, impressions, and consulting services, the author warns that "money can't buy trust in a short-term campaign." This lack of trust risks undermining Israel's legitimacy, likening the campaign to a "missile fired at Israel's own legitimacy." The piece uses a cartoon analogy of polished robots assuring people about Israel while underlying information pipes are secretly contaminated by foreign actors like Qatar, Iran, China, and Russia.

money can’t buy you love.

— Author, quoting The BeatlesUsed to illustrate that financial investment alone cannot buy trust or genuine support.

The core argument is that Israel's enemies have long understood the nature of cognitive warfare, investing for decades in media, universities, and political relationships to shape information environments. In contrast, Israel is portrayed as repeatedly treating its problem as a mere "hasbara" (public diplomacy) issue, failing to recognize the need for a comprehensive strategy that builds trust and shapes the entire information ecosystem rather than just delivering explanations.

Without trust, the campaign risks becoming another missile fired at Israel’s own legitimacy.

— AuthorHighlighting the potential negative consequences of the influence campaign.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Jerusalem Post in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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