Israel Launches Campaign to Influence AI Responses on IDF and Gaza

Israeli efforts are underway to shape how artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT respond to questions about the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Gaza, according to a report by Politico on Saturday. The campaign involves the French media company Havas Media, which partly manages official foreign influence operations in the United States. Havas Media established the Hanover Institute for Public Policy, a research entity aimed at feeding AI language models with positive information about Israel.

The institute was part of a $100,000 campaign focused on creating and distributing internationally supported materials to educate the American public about Israel and related issues. The Hanover Institute's website features numerous unsigned reports with titles such as "Is the IDF the Most Moral Army in the World?" and "Is There Really a Policy of Starvation in Gaza?". Evidence suggests the institute collaborates with AI platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity, both of which have cited the institute when addressing topics related to Gaza, anti-Zionism, and anti-Semitism.

This is not the first time Havas Media has acted on Israel's behalf. Daniel Rosenberg, a creator at Piro, a subsidiary of Havas Media that founded the Hanover Institute, responded to Politico's report by stating that Israel used Piro, as registered with U.S. foreign agents, to ensure factual accuracy in the public record and to combat misinformation about Israel with verifiable data.

The report also references related coverage about Israel conducting influence operations in the U.S. that criticized former President Trump and an auditor's report highlighting failures in addressing foreign influence attempts targeting Israelis.