Netanyahu Aide Consulted ChatGPT on Qatar's Image, Investigators Say
Translated & summarized from Mako by baba
Yonatan Urich, an advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, consulted ChatGPT on formulating messages to improve Qatar's image, according to investigators. Documentation shows at least two consultations aimed at shaping global perceptions of Qatar. Urich, however, denied in an investigation that he acted to advance Qatar's interests in Israel and claimed no memory of the specific queries. He later confirmed the reports, stating the queries were made but nothing came of them.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Prime Minister Netanyahu's advisor Yonatan Urich consulted ChatGPT on improving Qatar's image.
- Investigators have documentation of at least two consultations Urich held with ChatGPT.
- Urich claimed in an investigation he did not remember the conversations.
- He denied acting to advance Qatar's interests in Israel.
- Urich stated he asked ChatGPT for messages targeting Israelis, Jewish communities, and US opinion leaders.
- Urich later confirmed the consultations but said he did nothing with the information.
Investigators possess documentation of at least two consultations that Yonatan Urich, an advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, held with ChatGPT on different dates. These consultations were reportedly aimed at formulating messages to improve Qatar's public image. The findings raise further questions about Urich's testimony during his investigation, where he claimed to have no recollection of the conversations and denied acting to advance Qatar's interests in Israel.
During the investigation, a questioner confronted Urich with his September 2024 exchanges with ChatGPT, stating, "The investigation material reveals your intentions and actions, including from your requests to ChatGPT, which you used several times asking it to build for you 'a strategic plan for global consciousness change' concerning Qatar."
The investigator further quoted Urich's request to the AI, which indicated an intention to lead a campaign to improve Qatar's image. Urich had asked for additional ideas to improve the image for the Prime Minister and Emir of Qatar, and requested three key messages for target audiences including Israeli citizens, global Jewish communities, and US opinion leaders, to help "whitewash" Qatar and improve its image.
Urich responded to investigators by stating, "I don't remember what I asked ChatGPT. I ask it about many topics. I did not act and did nothing for Qatar in Israel, not with the Israeli media, not with Israeli citizens, and not with the Prime Minister." He later confirmed the report on X, writing that journalists had possessed the information for a long time but had not reported on his ChatGPT queries because he had "done nothing with them, as was proven in the investigation."
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