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Israel Reportedly Uses Fake Social Media Accounts To Influence US Lawmakers On Gaza War (nytimes.com) 146

An anonymous reader quotes a report from the New York Times: Israel organized and paid for an influence campaign last year targeting U.S. lawmakers and the American public with pro-Israel messaging, as it aimed to foster support for its actions in the war with Gaza, according to officials involved in the effort and documents related to the operation. The covert campaign was commissioned by Israel's Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, a government body that connects Jews around the world with the State of Israel, four Israeli officials said. The ministry allocated about $2 million to the operation and hired Stoic, a political marketing firm in Tel Aviv, to carry it out, according to the officials and the documents. The campaign began in October and remains active on the platform X. At its peak, it used hundreds of fake accounts that posed as real Americans on X, Facebook and Instagram to post pro-Israel comments. The accounts focused on U.S. lawmakers, particularly ones who are Black and Democrats, such as Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader from New York, and Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia, with posts urging them to continue funding Israel's military.

ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence-powered chatbot, was used to generate many of the posts. The campaign also created three fake English-language news sites featuring pro-Israel articles. The Israeli government's connection to the influence operation, which The New York Times verified with four current and former members of the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and documents about the campaign, has not previously been reported. FakeReporter, an Israeli misinformation watchdog, identified the effort in March. Last week, Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, and OpenAI, which makes ChatGPT, said they had also found and disrupted the operation. The secretive campaign signals the lengths Israel was willing to go to sway American opinion on the war in Gaza.

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Israel Reportedly Uses Fake Social Media Accounts To Influence US Lawmakers On Gaza War

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  • by Fly Swatter ( 30498 ) on Wednesday June 05, 2024 @07:01PM (#64526139) Homepage
    Let them sort out their own shit. We citizens could use our own money actually helping, you know, US. That money could be used to improve rail services for transport. Or fund the ACP. Or fix our aging infrastructure. Or hell even giving it to Calif.. no wait that's the nanny state that increases the price of everything by sticking cancer stickers on everything (those stickers aren't free nor the labor to stick them in all the wrong spots).
    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      Fiscal conservatives sudden clamming up when you mention Israel getting over $3 billion a year.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by Tony Isaac ( 1301187 )

      We all live in the same world, there is no such thing as "being neutral." Norway and Sweden stayed out of NATO because they wanted to be neutral, but Russia convinced them that they were playing with fire.

      The reality is, Hamas started this war. Israel has long been a staunch ally of the US, and vice versa. We should stand by our friends.

      • by Geoffrey.landis ( 926948 ) on Wednesday June 05, 2024 @09:53PM (#64526431) Homepage

        The reality is, Hamas started this war.

        From the Palestinian viewpoint, the Israelis invaded their land and declared it belonged to them now. They would say Israel started it.

        • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

          by penguinoid ( 724646 )

          From my point of view, Benjamin Netanyahu, a major voice in the "Palestine is a threat to Israel" faction, was about to lose the election and possibly face criminal charges. Hamas, a major voice in the "Israel is a threat to Palestine" faction, launched a surprise attack on Israel (thus proving Netanyahu correct and electable) which resulted in an invasion of Palestine (thus proving Hamas correct and electable). Iran, incidentally, provides a huge portion of Hamas' budget, and they hate Israel. The nearby n

        • by Tony Isaac ( 1301187 ) on Wednesday June 05, 2024 @11:05PM (#64526537) Homepage

          I get that. The Ottoman Empire allied itself with Germany, and oppressed the Jews. Germany & Ottoman lost. The rest of the world carved out a land for the Jews, eventually calling it Israel. So while the Palestinian viewpoint is as you say, the rest of the world made that happen, and agreed that the Jews should have that land. Their beef is with the League of Nations, and then the United Nations after it.

        • From the Palestinian viewpoint, the Israelis invaded their land and declared it belonged to them now. They would say Israel started it.

          Hardly. Israel didn't invade, they were given the land by a 3rd party as agreed internationally. If they have a beef then it's with those people.

          But in any case you're talking about a long history of minor armed conflicts. We're talking about a very specific war, one that was objectively started by a single event caused by a unilateral decision by Hamas. Now was Hamas desperate given their conditions and oppression by the neighbour? Maybe. They possibly felt quite justified in doing so.

          Long term regional in

          • From the Palestinian viewpoint, the Israelis invaded their land and declared it belonged to them now. They would say Israel started it.

            Hardly. Israel didn't invade, they were given the land by a 3rd party as agreed internationally.

            The Palestinian people who were forced off of their land didn't agree to it.

          • From the Palestinian viewpoint, the Israelis invaded their land and declared it belonged to them now. They would say Israel started it.

            Hardly. Israel didn't invade, they were given the land by a 3rd party as agreed internationally.

            You think that's the Palestinian viewpoint?

            From your point of view they were "given" the land. From their point of view, the land that they lived on was invaded by people who declared "this belongs to us now."

            But in any case you're talking about a long history of minor armed conflicts.

            From your point of view it's a "long history of minor armed conflicts". From their point of view, it was one invasion and conquest, that is still ongoing.

            • From your point of view they were "given" the land. From their point of view, the land that they lived on was invaded by people who declared "this belongs to us now."

              I mean this is what happens when you side with Nazis, try to take over the world, and lose. It's like the Russians claiming they should have all of Europe under their control because they once owned it. It's a point of view, sure, but not one I'm going to give an ounce of respect to.

        • It is also the case that Jews had been there thousands of years ago...and so had Arabs, Iranians, Egyptians... and then Islam came into being and invaded, conquered and colonized them all. So, "viewpoint" has to do with who is cherry-picking what, to advance propaganda and popularize this or that narrative.
        • by mjwx ( 966435 )

          The reality is, Hamas started this war.

          From the Palestinian viewpoint, the Israelis invaded their land and declared it belonged to them now. They would say Israel started it.

          A-huh... So this justifies their actions.

          The fact is, if it weren't for Hamas' actions on the 7th of October, most of those Palestinians would still be alive (well, the ones that weren't being killed by Hamas, there's a reason average Palestinians were opposing them). History will remember it this way regardless of what propaganda Hamas wants it's useful idiots to spout.

          • The reality is, Hamas started this war.

            From the Palestinian viewpoint, the Israelis invaded their land and declared it belonged to them now. They would say Israel started it.

            A-huh... So this justifies their actions.

            No. That explains their actions. Explaining something and justifying it are different things.

            The statement that "Hamas started this war" is a viewpoint-dependent statement.

    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 ) on Thursday June 06, 2024 @04:19AM (#64526889) Homepage Journal

      The West was supposed to bring an International Rules Based Order to the world. Europe seems to take it more seriously, with both the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice located there.

      I'd argue we should intervene to stop genocide and other crimes against humanity, if we can. Unfortunately we mostly seem to ignore things like that an only intervene when our trade and oil supplies are at stake.

      Israel has managed to completely undermine Europe and the US as the moral centres of the world, and other countries are moving in to fill the void. We may be entering a new age where former colonial countries are the ones pushing for international justice, on both stuff like this and on issues like climate change. It all weakens The West as soft power and gravitas slip away.

      It's really quite incredible how Israel has managed to screw basically everyone who ever supported it, and the first live-streamed real-time genocidal state.

  • by evanh ( 627108 ) on Wednesday June 05, 2024 @07:12PM (#64526169)

    Zuck/Musk: We wouldn't do such a thing as turn a blind eye.

  • how to do that? hmmm?
  • So not the sharpest tacks in the box!
  • by WaffleMonster ( 969671 ) on Wednesday June 05, 2024 @08:53PM (#64526339)

    The US government should view state sponsored influence campaigns as an attack by a foreign power and respond accordingly.

    • Like when Obama funded NGOs in Israel that were campaigning against Netenyahu in the early 2010s?

      Or when he stumped against Brexit in the UK prior to the vote?

      The Prime Directive is for Star Trek. America clearly doesn't abide by it, even with our friends.

      • Re: (Score:2, Flamebait)

        Like when Obama funded NGOs in Israel that were campaigning against Netenyahu in the early 2010s?

        Or when he stumped against Brexit in the UK prior to the vote?

        The Prime Directive is for Star Trek. America clearly doesn't abide by it, even with our friends.

        Overt statements from foreign leaders are not the same as covert state sponsored influence campaigns.

        Regardless I have absolutely no doubt the US does it too. Just like I have no doubt the US spies on its allies. This changes nothing. It's still an attack and still warrants a response. I expect nothing less from those on the receiving end of any US malign influence campaigns.

        • The thing that gets me is the lobbying. AIPAC isn't covert, exactly, in the same way that other lobbying groups in Washington are known entities, but the extent of their influence isn't well established. We only know that it's considerable.

          We rightly criticized Trump and his conies for their ties to Russia during the 2016 campaign, under the principle that foreign powers shouldn't be interfering in our elections (though they are allowed to express their opinions, as you say). And we also rightly criticiz
    • by Tablizer ( 95088 )

      AIPAC has deep pockets and are not afraid to use them. They are the NRA of the Middle East.

    • The US government should view state sponsored influence campaigns as an attack by a foreign power and respond accordingly.

      What makes you think the US government isn't responding accordingly? Seriously do you think any government relevant on an international stage isn't waging a significant information war? Or is this something you only recognise when it happens to you?

      • What makes you think the US government isn't responding accordingly?

        I didn't make any assertions in this regard.

        Seriously do you think any government relevant on an international stage isn't waging a significant information war? Or is this something you only recognise when it happens to you?

        Addressed this previously...

        "Regardless I have absolutely no doubt the US does it too. Just like I have no doubt the US spies on its allies. This changes nothing. It's still an attack and still warrants a response. I expect nothing less from those on the receiving end of any US malign influence campaigns."

    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      Check out how much AIPAC donates to US politicians: https://trackaipac.com/ [trackaipac.com]

      On their website they boast about how AIPAC backed politicians never lose. There is zero chance of ending the foreign interference because the only people who could do it are also benefitting greatly from it.

  • Oh come on... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by oogoliegoogolie ( 635356 ) on Wednesday June 05, 2024 @09:00PM (#64526351)

    Like Hamass isn't using thousands of 'useful idiots' to spread their 'we are the victim' propaganda.

    • How dare they bomb us while we refuse to release hostages. What kind of monsters are they!

    • Re:Oh come on... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 ) on Thursday June 06, 2024 @04:27AM (#64526899) Homepage Journal

      The difference is that Palestinians are facing real genocide, and the "propaganda" images for dead children are genuine. Israeli claims of mass rape are unsubstantiated at best, while IDF solders and all the way back to veterans of the first Nakba boast openly about doing it.

      Regardless of who is spreading it and for what reason, this is simple truth vs lies.

  • ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence-powered chatbot, was used to generate many of the posts.

    See, the LLMs are useful for something!

  • Israel Reportedly Uses Fake Social Media Accounts To Influence US Lawmakers ...

    Duh.

    • by znrt ( 2424692 )

      the fact that the new york times dares to talk about it is indeed news. maybe something's changing?

  • ...roughly modeled along the same lines as our response to the Russian interference with the 2016 election. A special counsel should be appointed, an investigation should be launched, and a detailed report should be published.

    I'm a realist, so I'm not expecting the US government to *do* anything about their findings-- there won't be sanctions, there probably won't even be a symbolic gesture such as a vote to censure. But it's important to investigate and document what happened.

    It should of course be empha

  • Fascinating that ChatGPT was used.

    I guess this is the future of politics, potentially including:
    AI political fundraising
    political campaigns based on recommendations by AI
    an AI with its own political party
    laws written by AI

    Where does this stop?
  • Hamas and their sympathizers use fake humans to push their position.

    You can't tell me the morons marching as "trans queer pedophiles for Gaza" -When homosexuality gets you murdered in Gaza- are actual human beings.

  • The JIDF has been doing this for years and the paleocon and "alt right" wings of conservatism have been calling it out the whole time. Israel manipulates and molds our entire political system but idiots cry about a nothingburger Russian influence operation.
  • I totally get it that people need to make a buck. No problem with that whatsoever. But we can't use pay walled sources for discussions on slashdot, because all we have to go on are the summaries. That's like trying to discuss how a software function works under the hood with only the documentation for reference.

    In this latest example, we have no hope of finding out any of the details of the influencing campaign, unless we personally subscribe to the New York Times. And since the NY Times readership leans st

  • Title says it all.

    Society would be far better off without it.

  • I mean, at this point we have caught China, Russia, and I forget who else, probably Equador, and everyone else doing it.

news: gotcha

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