Manufactured Neutrality: How “Israel” Seeks to Control AI Narratives

By Mohamad Hammoud

The battle over raw news, propaganda and the digital frontlines

For decades, “Israel” depended on traditional media outlets to filter and frame its wars in language that would resonate with Western audiences. Today, that model is unraveling. Social platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and X now give ordinary people in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon the power to livestream bombings, funerals and daily acts of survival—no editors, no government spokesmen.

The immediacy of these images has eroded the credibility of official narratives, leaving “Israel” increasingly anxious about losing control of its story. This anxiety is not hypothetical: According to Pew Research Center surveys, American public support for “Israel” has steadily dropped, with unfavorable views rising from 42 percent in 2022 to 60 percent by mid-2026. People are turning to unfiltered, first-person accounts instead of polished press releases—and legitimacy is collapsing as a result.

Buying Influence in the Digital Sphere

The response from “Israel” has been swift and calculated. According to Politico, “Israel” has poured tens of millions of dollars into campaigns designed to manipulate how artificial intelligence platforms answer questions about Gaza and the ongoing war. The Hanover Institute for Public Policy, presented as an academic resource, was in fact linked through FARA filings to a PR operation run by Havas Media and its subcontractor Piro Inc on behalf of the “Israeli” Government Advertising Agency. The site published unattributed reports disguised as “questions,” such as Who Is the Aggressor in the “Israel”-Palestine Conflict? — content deliberately structured to be picked up by large language models like ChatGPT. Technical fingerprints linked the site to Res, a Seattle-based AI startup specializing in boosting client visibility in AI-generated outputs. In short, “Israel” is no longer just buying influence in traditional media — it’s investing in the very algorithms millions of people now trust for answers.

AI as the New Battleground

Politico reported that both ChatGPT and Perplexity cited Hanover Institute material when asked neutral queries about Gaza. This is not accidental. It’s part of a deliberate strategy to seed AI systems with information that looks impartial but is crafted to blunt criticism of “Israel.” The Wall Street Journal previously uncovered a $46.5 million campaign, managed by Havas Media, that included AI generated pro “Israel” messaging directed at Americans. These latest efforts echo earlier influencer campaigns, which saw hundreds of thousands spent to saturate social media with “Israel”-friendly posts. The strategy is clear: as raw footage from Gaza undermines “Israel’s” image, AI is being trained to counterbalance it with sanitized language.

The Politics of Neutralization

Anyone who has used ChatGPT to write about “Israel’s” wars may have noticed a pattern: the model sidesteps sharp language, avoids labeling “Israel” as the aggressor, and tends to default to “neutral” phrasing. This is not simply a quirk of machine learning. It reflects the success of influence campaigns that feed AI systems carefully curated material designed to neutralize criticism. The Hanover Institute’s “documentary, not declarative” framing is a textbook example of how propaganda is disguised as academic inquiry. By flooding AI with such sources, “Israel” ensures that even when users seek clarity, the answers they receive are softened, hedged, and stripped of moral urgency.

Western Hypocrisy and Elite Impunity

But the deeper problem is Western permissiveness. While Washington politicians have become more vocal in their criticism of “Israel”—over 100 House Democrats recently backed an amendment to cut billions in aid—the machinery of influence remains firmly intact. PR firms registered under FARA openly manage campaigns to sway American opinion, yet face little accountability. The very elites who denounce foreign interference in U.S. politics look the other way when “Israel” manipulates AI platforms. This double standard exposes a broader culture of impunity: Western governments condemn disinformation from adversaries but quietly enable it when it serves the interests of their allies.

Conclusion: The Struggle for Narrative Control

The rise of unfiltered reporting from Gaza has shattered “Israel’s” monopoly on the narrative. In response, “Israel” has turned to AI, aiming to engineer neutrality and suppress sharp criticism. Yet the sheer scale of these efforts reveals a deep-seated insecurity. As more Americans bear witness to the realities of occupation and war through social media, no algorithmic manipulation can fully erase what people see and feel. The contest over narrative is no longer just in newspapers or on television—it plays out in TikTok feeds and ChatGPT answers. In that struggle, “Israel’s” anxiety about losing control is as real as it is revealing.