Israel Targets U.S. Lawmakers with Fake Accounts
In response to the worldwide
revulsion over its ongoing genocide of the Palestinians, Israel has created an
influence campaign targeting U.S. lawmakers.
According to officials and
documents, Israel's Ministry of Diaspora Affairs orchestrated a covert
operation using fake social media accounts to garner support for Israel's
military actions in Gaza. The campaign, with a budget of $2 million, hired the
political marketing firm Stoic to create and manage hundreds of fake accounts
on platforms such as X, Facebook, and Instagram. These accounts posed as real
Americans and urged U.S. lawmakers, particularly Black Democrats like
Representative Hakeem Jeffries and Senator Raphael Warnock, to fund Israel’s
military efforts. Additionally, the campaign fabricated three fake news sites
to further disseminate pro-Israel content.
Despite the campaign's limited
impact, with many followers likely being bots, the implications of a foreign
government's attempt to influence American policy and public opinion are
significant. It highlights the urgent need for transparency and accountability
in both political marketing and social media regulation.
I urge lawmakers and social media
companies to take this matter seriously and implement measures to prevent such
manipulations in the future.
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