One of the biggest deals, as per ResponsibleStateCraft[1], involves[2] Clock Tower X, a US firm linked to former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale. The company has a $6 million contract to produce material for Israel. At least four-fifths of what it creates must focus on younger audiences using TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, podcasts, and other channels. Targets in the contract require at least 50 million impressions each month.
Part of the plan is to build websites that feed into the data used by AI systems, so that responses to political subjects reflect positions that Israel wants highlighted. To help the material rise in search results, Clock Tower is using MarketBrew, an AI platform that predicts how Google and Bing rank content. The contract also gives the firm scope to place narratives through Salem Media Network, a conservative Christian broadcaster in the US where Parscale now serves as chief strategist.
The filings say the project is framed as a campaign against antisemitism. Few details are given about the specific themes of the material, but Israel’s foreign ministry is closely involved, with senior adviser Eran Shayovich named as the main contact. He has previously described his work as expanding Israel’s public diplomacy under a project labeled 545.
Alongside this effort, a separate program has paid social media influencers large sums to post supportive content. Invoices from Bridges Partners, another firm linked to Israel’s ministry, show that around $900,000 was budgeted between June and November. After production and legal costs, more than half a million dollars went directly to influencers. The documents suggest each post on platforms like TikTok or Instagram brought in between $6,000 and $7,000 for those taking part[3]. The campaign, called the Esther Project, was designed to reach Western audiences through lifestyle-style media.
Other moves point to wider spending. In June, Google began a $45 million advertising program on behalf of Israel’s prime minister’s office. The ads, spread through YouTube and the company’s display network, were listed as government-backed public relations. TikTok also recently hired Erica Mendel, a former Israeli army instructor and US State Department contractor, to oversee its hate-speech policy, raising questions about possible alignment with Israel’s approach.
All of this comes at a time when US polling shows weakening support for Israel. A Gallup survey[4] over the summer found that only nine percent of Americans aged 18 to 34 backed Israeli military actions[5] in Gaza. A New York Times and Siena poll later showed more respondents supporting Palestinians than Israel for the first time in that survey’s history[6]. Quinnipiac University found that fewer than half of Americans think supporting Israel is in Washington’s interest[7], while only one in five hold a favorable view of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Netanyahu has underlined how vital he sees online communication in this struggle. He has said digital platforms are central to influencing opinion, comparing them to weapons that replace older tools of conflict. Investors close to Israel, including Oracle founder Larry Ellison, are also involved in bids to buy TikTok, a platform Netanyahu has suggested could become a decisive tool in shaping perception.
Taken together, the contracts show how Israel is concentrating resources on digital space, mixing influencer partnerships, targeted media buys, and AI-driven search manipulation. The effort reflects both the scale of its investment and the challenge it faces with younger audiences, where opinion polls reveal attitudes have shifted sharply.
Notes: This post was edited/created using GenAI tools. Image: DIW-Aigen.
Read next: Meta Denies Microphone Tracking As It Expands AI Ad Targeting[8]
References
- ^ ResponsibleStateCraft (responsiblestatecraft.org)
- ^ involves (efile.fara.gov)
- ^ in between $6,000 and $7,000 for those taking part (responsiblestatecraft.org)
- ^ A Gallup survey (news.gallup.com)
- ^ only nine percent of Americans aged 18 to 34 backed Israeli military actions (news.gallup.com)
- ^ showed more respondents supporting Palestinians than Israel for the first time in that survey’s history (www.nytimes.com)
- ^ supporting Israel is in Washington’s interest (poll.qu.edu)
- ^ Meta Denies Microphone Tracking As It Expands AI Ad Targeting (www.digitalinformationworld.com)