A pro-Israel messaging website badged with the name of a thinktank that does not exist has published more than half a million words in nine days, built on a commercial platform that promises to optimize content so that AI chatbots will cite it. The site gives Israel's position on subjects including the torture of Palestinian prisoners, Israeli war crimes and whether Israel has deliberately starved Palestinians in Gaza, all presented as neutral research. This was reported by The Guardian, as cited by infohub.kz.
The site, called the Hanover Institute for Public Policy, presents Israel's stance on the torture of Palestinian prisoners, war crimes, and starvation in Gaza as neutral research. However, the institute is not registered as a legal entity in any jurisdiction, has no physical address, and lists no staff or authors.
Between 6 and 14 August, the site published 124 reports totaling more than 560,000 words. This content was created on a commercial platform that promises to influence AI chatbot citations. The Israeli government has spent tens of millions of dollars on this campaign, with funds routed through third parties including Havas Media.
The articles are written in an academic style and cite sources such as the World Bank, UN agencies, and the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. However, researchers say the content distorts information critical of Israel, often using phrases like 'no court has ruled on this matter.'
The site aims to influence AI chatbot responses by using special files and generative engine optimization. Researchers warn this method could infiltrate chatbot training data and skew their answers.
The effectiveness of Israel's spending on public diplomacy is questionable. Experts say the campaign has not improved Israel's international standing; instead, support for Israel in the US is declining. According to a Gallup poll, only 36% of Americans support Israel, while 31% consider its actions in Gaza genocide.