Israel launches campaign to influence AI responses on Gaza

Israel has commenced a media campaign utilizing foreign public relations firms to mold material generated by artificial intelligence concerning Gaza and its military, with the objective of swaying public opinion in the United States. The initiative follows a drop in Israel's standing among Western audiences, particularly in the US.

According to Politico, Israel enlisted the French PR firm Havas Media to establish the Hanover Institute for Public Policy, through advertising agency Piro. The $100,000 campaign aimed to produce and distribute positive informational content about Israel to the American public.

Over a dozen articles were published on the institute's website, devoid of author names, covering subjects such as the ethics of the Israeli military and policies related to famine in Gaza. The articles were designed to furnish large AI systems like ChatGPT and Perplexity with data to cite in their responses to inquiries about Gaza, anti-Zionism, and antisemitism. Politico's tests revealed that the models have already begun referencing the Hanover Institute's content.

The website is managed by Piro on behalf of Havas Media Germany, acting as the Israeli government's advertising agency LaPam. The website was temporarily removed from Res, an AI startup based in Seattle that provides services to entities like Nike and Intel. A duplicate version of the institute's homepage was also removed from Res's website after Politico reached out to them.

Israel had previously collaborated with Havas Media on influence campaigns targeting chatbots, including a $46.5 million contract with former US President Donald Trump's campaign manager Brad Parscale.

Daniel Rosenberg, co-founder of Piro, affirmed that the contract with Israel aims to incorporate accurate and documented facts into the public record and to counteract misinformation with verifiable information. However, Piro's filings did not explicitly mention influencing AI models as a direct goal of the campaign. Hai Tran, founder and CEO of Res, stated that the company's involvement in the project is disclosed in a brief registration filed with the US Department of Justice.