Israeli War Propaganda on Social Media
Benyamin Netanyahu’s coalition government has taken control of TikTok and plans to also control the social network X. However, the State of Israel’s propaganda has long eluded its citizens. Its purpose has never been publicly discussed. A small group decides its messages alone, without considering what would be useful to Israelis—such as fighting anti-Semitism. State resources have been seized solely by “revisionist Zionists,” even though they are an ultra-minority.
Israeli propaganda (הַסְבָּרָה – hasbara) has rarely been a function of Israeli governments, but rather an operation of associations partially funded by them. These associations, which have their own ideologies, are not accountable for their actions to the Israeli people, but exclusively to their sponsors, including the governments in Tel Aviv. The self-proclaimed “largest democracy in the Middle East” thus funds profoundly anti-democratic operations without the knowledge of its citizens.
Israel’s chronic instability since its founding and the habit of appointing central ministerial directors based on political criteria rather than competence have blurred Israel’s message. Several competing powers deliver different messages [1]. Ultimately, an authority has been created for “public diplomacy” (propaganda). It has become particularly secretive.
Before the founding of Israel, the term hasbara referred to the act of explaining a position in the Diaspora. But over time, it became synonymous with “propaganda.”
In 1974, following the Yom Kippur War, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin created a Ministry of Information, which he entrusted to General Aharon Yariv [2]. But the latter resigned seven months later and devoted himself to creating a prestigious think tank, the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies. It was not until 2006 that a “Ministry of Strategic Affairs and Hasbara” (now the Ministry of Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy) was again created; a ministry that does not have a website and does not communicate, but which became famous in 2015 with its campaign against “the phenomena of delegitimization and boycotts against Israel,” that is to say, the “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions” (BDS) movement.
This discreet ministry created its own ארגון לא ממשלתי המאורגן על ידי הממשלה (non-governmental organization organized by the government) (sic), Kela Shlomo (Solomon’s Sling) (later Concert, then Voices of Israel) led by Colonel Yossi Kuperwasser, Ambassadors Dore Gold and Ron Prosor and Brigadier Sima Vaknin Gill, former director of military censorship. Various companies (Black Cube, Psy-Group and Cyber Shield [3]) spied on BDS activists on behalf of Kela Shlomo [4].
In recent years, approximately $200 million a year, or four-fifths of the Ministry of Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy’s budget, has been allocated to the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP). Ron Dermer, the current minister since 2022, was an advisor to Natan Sharansky and the author of his book, The Case for Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny and Terror. It was to him, in late 2023, Benjamin Netanyahu, who was entrusted with a plan aimed at minimizing the Palestinian population of Gaza [5].
Specifically, Sharansky is the president of ISGAP. He is a Ukrainian revisionist Zionist; a disciple of the other Ukrainian, Vladimir Jabotinsky. He played a central role in the fight against Russia during the Soviet era. He was the main reference for Senator Henry M. Jackson’s Straussians, emigrated to the United States, was awarded the Congressional Medal by Ronald Reagan, and became a minister under General Ariel Sharon. In 2001, he founded One Jerusalem, the association that campaigns for the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of the “Jewish State” alone (and not that of the Palestinian State). Today, he heads ISGAP and, in this capacity, oversees almost all of the hasbara.
Hasbara has won many battles. The latest for ISGAP is the campaign of hearings of university rectors by the United States Congress, resulting in several resignations and sanctions against pro-Palestinian associations.
However, one can only be surprised by the ineffectiveness of their international campaigns against antisemitism. Eighty years after the founding of the State of Israel, not only has the problem not been resolved, but it has worsened [6]. During this time, machismo, homophobia, and racism have declined considerably. It must be considered that antisemitism is a means by which the Israeli authorities exert pressure on their own population. Let us remember that revisionist Zionists used antisemitism to advance their cause in the diaspora.
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During his lecture at the Israeli Consulate General in New York, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed that his country’s ambitions were to control people under the age of thirty-five via social media [7].
According to YNetGlobal, he launched a campaign to take control of social media and influence people under 25, “Project 545” [8]. It was entrusted to Havas Media Network, the company owned by Yannick Bolloré (son of Vincent Bolloré and husband of Chloé Bouygues). The latter awarded Clock Tower X LLC a $6 million contract to “provide strategic communications, planning, and media services in support of Havas’s commitment by the State of Israel to develop and execute a national campaign in the United States to combat antisemitism.” Clock Tower is the company founded by Brad Parscale after he left Donald Trump’s campaign team.
According to a poll conducted for Israel in the United States, 47% of the population believes the IDF is committing genocide.
The Israeli government’s main idea is to influence the responses of artificial intelligence by creating a multitude of social media accounts that will provide the narrative that ChatGPT and its rivals will feed on.
“Project 545” is the code name for this operation, funded to the tune of 545 million shekels, or $145 million, by 2025. It terminated Israel’s contract with SKDKnickerbocker, the communications firm linked to the US Democratic Party.
According to Responsible Statecraft, the influencer network Benjamin Netanyahu referred to during his speech at the Israeli Consulate General in New York was reportedly formed by Bridges Partners, the company owned by Yair Levi and Uri Steinberg. The campaign, called the Esther Project, has already cost $900,000. Fourteen to 18 influencers are believed to have published 75 to 90 posts during this period. The fees are paid by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Three of the influencers have been identified. They are Lizzy Savetsky, a prominent online advocate for Israel since the beginning of the war; businessman Ari Ackerman, grandson of Israeli-American tycoon Meshulam Riklis; and digital creator Zach Sage Fox.
Uri Steinberg, meanwhile, is a former senior official in the Israeli Ministry of Tourism. He works at Natan Sharansky’s Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP).
A tax document provides an estimate of Bridge Partners’ overhead costs [9].
Journalist Candace Owens—who reported Xavier Poussard’s revelations about Brigitte Macron’s real identity—published screenshots of Charlie Kirk attesting that his funding had been cut and that he had received threats two days before his assassination [10]. Now Charlie Kirk had just taken a stand against the massacres in Gaza.
During his speech in New York, Benjamin Netanyahu said: “The most important purchase underway is (…) TikTok. Number one. And I hope it goes through because it can be substantial. And the other one? X. We need to talk to Elon [Musk]. He’s not an enemy, he’s a friend. We should talk to him. Now, if we can achieve those two things, we’ll achieve a lot. We need to fight the fight, give direction to the Jewish people, and give direction to our non-Jewish friends.”
Billionaire Safra Catz became executive vice president of Larry Ellison’s Oracle when it acquired 45% of the social network TikTok on September 25. On that occasion, she said: “We need to integrate love and respect for Israel into American culture.” Oracle will store TikTok’s US user data on its cloud computers.
At the same time, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs has just created the company Show Faith by Work, which it has registered as a foreign agent of influence in the United States [11]. This time, the aim is to disseminate the official version of the October 7 attack and messages against the existence of a Palestinian state to all American Christian Zionists. A budget of $3.2 million has been allocated, including the rental of a caravan that will allow propaganda films to be shown during Christian gatherings.
https://www.voltairenet.org/article223040.html
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[1] «Public diplomacy in army boots: the chronic failure of Israel’s Hasbara», Gal Hadari & Asaf Turgeman, Hasbara, Israel Affairs, 24:3, 482-499 (2018), DOI : 10.1080/13537121.2018.1455374.
[2] Israel’s Public Diplomacy. The Problems of Hasbara, 1966–1975, Jonathan Cumming, Rowman & Littelfield (2016).
[3] «Spying on Linda Sarsour: Israeli Firm Compiled BDS Dossier for Adelson-funded U.S. Group Battling Her Campus Appearances», Uri Blau, Haaretz, May 28, 2018.
[4] «BDS is a dirty business. Those who battle it on Israel’s behalf must stay clean», David Horovitz, The Times of Israel, June 17, 2018.
[5] «Netanyahu’s Goal for Gaza: “Thin” Population “to a Minimum”», Ryan Grim, The Intercept, December 3, 2023.
[6] Acting Propaganda: Viewpoints from Israel, Ron Schleifer & Jessica Snapper, Sussex Aacademic Press (2015).
[7] « @MiddleEastEye », X, September 27, 2025.
[8] «Report: Israel to spend over half a billion shekels turning ChatGPT into public diplomacy tool», Daniel Edelson & Raphael Kahan, YNetGlobal, October 6, 2025.
[9] «NSD/FARA Registration Unit», September 26, 2025.
[10] «Turning Point USA responds: Yes, The Text Messages Are Real» Candace Owens Ep 249, YouTube, October 7, 2025.
[11] «Israel wants to hire Chris Pratt and Steph Curr», Nick Cleveland-Stout, Responsible Statecraft, October 07, 2025.
https://thealtworld.com/thierry_meyssan/israeli-war-propaganda-on-social-media