News Israel reportedly used fake social media accounts to influence US lawmakers

[News]

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge

A secret social media influence campaign that attempted to lobby US lawmakers to support Israel’s war on Gaza was organized and funded by the Israeli government, The New York Times reports.

According to the Times, Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs earmarked around $2 million for the campaign, which used hundreds of fake accounts impersonating made up people to target US lawmakers. The accounts posed as Americans and posted pro-Israel messages, calling on members of congress to fund Israeli military operations. The campaigns used OpenAI’s ChatGPT to produce the posts and targeted several Black Democrats, like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

The Ministry of Diaspora Affairs didn’t immediately respond to The Verge’s request for...

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