Israel paying US influencers to reverse negative public opinion: Report

Israel is paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to American influencers to win a propaganda war after its two-year war on Palestinians in Gaza has diminished its reputation, Responsible Statecraft reported on Wednesday.

Foreign Agents Registration Act (Fara) records filed with the US Department of Justice show that Israel’s government has set aside $900,000 to pay influencers from mid-June until the end of November this year.

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs pays a company called Bridges Partners LLC to manage the influencers. Israel transfers the money to Bridge Partners LLC’s via Havas Media Group in Germany, who then transfer the money across to Bridge Partners LLC.

DC-based Bridge Partners LLC said in its disclosure form that its work is intended to “assist with promoting cultural interchange between the United States and Israel”.

The form also reveals the firm is being paid to recruit 14-18 influencers to post between 25 and 30 pro-Israel posts a month across social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube and Threads. 

Each post can potentially earn as much as $6,000, with some garnering upwards of $7,000.

The project is known as the ‘Esther Project’, a name similar to the right-wing Heritage Foundation’s Project Esther, who told Responsible Statecraft that there was "no connection" between the two.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with a group of influencers in New York City during his trip to the US for the UN General Assembly and told them that the way to address declining support for Israel was by using influencers on social media.

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He said it complemented an Israeli media strategy which saw the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs enter a $1.5m contract with President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Brad Parscale to provide  “strategic communications” to combat antisemitism in the US.

The Israeli government has faced scrutiny at home for failing to win the information war.

In August, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett launched a social media tirade against the current Israeli government and accused it of turning Israel into “a leper state”.

He recommended it “re-establish a fast and synchronized propaganda headquarters” that would function “quickly, strongly” and “accurately”.

He also recommended that Israel should “harness” its friends everywhere to continuously convey to them Israel's point of view.

“Israel needs to tell a new, different story,” he urged. “Of strength and positive action. It has no chance in the current government that is concerned with its own power, honor, and politics, but not with the good of Israel”.

Polls have consistently shown waning public support for Israel. A new poll released on Friday shows that 65 percent of Democratic respondents favour sanctions on Israel, 72 percent believe Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, and 75 percent oppose renewing the US memorandum of understanding that provides annual weapons funding to Israel.

The poll also showed that 62 percent supported prohibiting entry into the US for Israeli officials and soldiers. 

The survey was conducted by the YouGov polling firm for the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) Policy Project, a Washington-based advocacy group promoting Palestinian rights, and Gen-Z for Change, a youth-led progressive advocacy organisation. It polled more than 1,200 likely Democratic primary voters.