Israel is training its soldiers in propaganda tactics to 'manipulate public opinion' at home and abroad

The Cradle
Fri, 05 Jun 2026 18:57 UTC

© Israeli Army

The Israel lobby in the US is turning toward AI to influence the public's views of Israel amid its genocide of Palestinians in Gaza

The Israeli military is training soldiers and other defense officials to conduct psychological operations designed to "influence public consciousness" in Israel and abroad, the Hottest Place in Hell reported on 4 June.

The Israeli investigative outlet published its report based on an internal Defense Ministry tender published last July. The tender revealed that the ministry hired academics to teach English and Hebrew-language courses on propaganda to Israeli defense personnel, as well as to unspecified "foreign partners."

The courses teach participants "how to use data to discreetly shape the attitudes and actions of target audiences, intelligence gathering for such operations, and influencer training," the Hottest Place in Hell wrote.

Course content focuses on "offensive" influence operations meant to actively disrupt or manipulate the beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors of target audiences.

The courses integrate concepts from advertising and marketing, as well as cyberwarfare and intelligence gathering on target audiences.

One course teaches defense personnel how to plan "information operations for the purpose of influencing public consciousness in the local and international arena," including crafting messages tailored to a target population and assessing their impact.

According to the Defense Ministry tender, instructors were required to hold advanced degrees in the fields of influence, consciousness, security and terrorism, mass communication, or digital and network communication. They are also required to have at least four years of professional experience in the fields of influence or influence intelligence in a security organization.

Themes taught in the courses include "fundamentals of psychological warfare, propaganda, deception, legitimacy and public diplomacy, and segmentation of target populations with emphasis on foreign audiences."

The identities of the "foreign partners" receiving instruction in English are not specified in the tender obtained by the investigative outlet. For the the foreign partners, a dedicated syllabus was prepared, which included the study of "the American approach."

A course on "cultural intelligence" includes training to psychologically profile foreign audiences according to their cultural codes, social sensitivities, and political contexts, to better craft messages "more likely to penetrate and persuade."

In response to a request for comment, an Israeli army spokesperson described the program as "an academic course for personnel engaged in the influence and consciousness effort" in the Israeli army, adding that its purpose was "personal enrichment."

Tel Aviv has increasingly turned to AI to influence the views of foreign audiences, who are developing negative views of Israel in response to its genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.

Last fall, the Israeli government hired a company to help it "train ChatGPT" to be more "pro-Israel," Responsible Statecraft reported, citing a contract with a US conservative-linked firm, Clock Tower X LLC.

The report says the contract is worth $6 million.

A minimum of 80 percent of the content produced by Clock Tower will be "tailored to Gen Z audiences across platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, podcasts, and other relevant digital and broadcast outlets," the contract states. The quota is at least 50 million impressions monthly.

The company will also use "websites and content to deliver GPT framing results on GPT conversations" on behalf of Israel.

In a recent meeting of the American Jewish Committee, Dr Maya Ackerman discussed the benefits of working with AI companies to control what information users receive about Israel and the Jewish community in the US.

AI presents an incredible opportunity for the Jewish lobby because "instead of trying to control the whole world" and "manage" social media, "we can go directly to the companies" with "advocacy solutions," Dr Ackerman stated at the meeting.

"For the first time, there is a path to correcting the digital world!" she expressed.

Comment: More from the Responsible Statecraft report:

The government of Israel has hired a new conservative-aligned firm, Clock Tower X LLC, to create media for Gen Z audiences in a contract worth $6 million. At least 80 percent of content Clock Tower produces will be "tailored to Gen Z audiences across platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, podcasts, and other relevant digital and broadcast outlets" with a minimum goal of 50 million impressions per month.

Clock Tower will even deploy "websites and content to deliver GPT framing results on GPT conversations." In other words, Clock Tower will create new websites to influence how AI GPT models such as ChatGPT, which are trained on vast amounts of data from every corner of the internet, frame topics and respond to them — all on behalf of Israel.

[...]

Clock Tower will integrate its pro-Israel messaging into Salem Media Network properties, a conservative Christian media group that boasts a vast radio network and produces high-profile shows such as the Hugh Hewitt Show, the Larry Elder Show, and the Right View with Lara Trump. In April, the conservative media network announced Donald Trump Jr. and Lara Trump as significant stakeholders in the company. Salem Media Network did not respond to a question clarifying whether it would be compensated by Clock Tower for promoting messages on behalf of Israel, or how these messages would be integrated.

Former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale, the adviser who hired the controversial microtargeting firm Cambridge Analytica during Trump's 2016 campaign, is at the center of the Israeli government's new deal. Clock Tower is led by Parscale — who is also the new chief strategy officer for the Salem Media Group.

In its contract, Clock Tower does not reveal much about what kinds of messaging will be promoted on behalf of Israel. According to its filing under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Clock Tower was hired to help "execute a nationwide campaign in the United States to combat antisemitism."

The firm's point-person is Eran Shayovich, the chief of staff at Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. According to Shayovich's Linkedin profile, he is leading a campaign called "project 545" which aims to "amplify Israel's strategic communication and public diplomacy efforts."
[...]

Candace Owens had a few things to say about Brad Parscale and Salem Media: