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// DOSSIER — israeli-funded-hanover-institute-campaign-influence-ai-chatbots
Israeli-Funded 'Hanover Institute' Campaign to Influence AI Chatbots
REL_TIME: 27 Aug 2026 23:44Z · LANG: EN
A sophisticated Israeli government-funded operation utilized a fictitious US think tank, the Hanover Institute for Public Policy, to flood the internet with pro-Israel content specifically engineered to manipulate AI chatbot responses. The campaign, involving tens of millions of dollars and multiple US subcontractors like Piro Inc and Clock Tower X, employed 'Generative Engine Optimization' (GEO) to ensure AI models such as ChatGPT and Claude adopt specific pro-Israel frames on sensitive topics including war crimes and genocide. Despite producing over 560,000 words in just nine days, the operation has faced internal criticism from Israeli officials who view it as a failed attempt to reverse a significant decline in US public support.
// Background
The campaign emerges amid a collapse in US public support for Israel, with polling showing 60% of Americans hold unfavorable views and 31% believe Israel's actions in Gaza constitute genocide. Traditional 'Hasbara' (public diplomacy) has been increasingly viewed by Israeli leadership as ineffective, leading to a shift toward 'Generative Engine Optimization' to influence the data repositories (like Common Crawl) that train AI models.
// Key Developments
- The Hanover Institute for Public Policy is a fake entity with no legal status, physical address, or named staff.
- Between August 6 and 14, 2026, the site published 124 reports totaling 560,000 words, averaging 4,500 words per report.
- Content was specifically formatted as questions to match common AI chatbot prompts, such as 'Is Israel Carrying Out a Genocide in Gaza?'
- The campaign utilized 'Res,' an AI-native platform designed to help content get cited by ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Gemini.
- Funding was routed through the European advertising group Havas Media to US firms to obscure the direct link to the Israeli government.
- Internal Israeli officials have described the multimillion-dollar 'Hasbara' effort as a 'terrible hoax' and a failure in shifting US public opinion.
// Timeline
-
Israeli government agency LaPam awards Havas Media contracts totaling over $85 million for international media planning.
-
Havas US terminates its registration as an agent of the Israeli government, shifting payment flows through its German subsidiary.
-
Havas Germany pays approximately $25 million to US contractors Clock Tower X and Targeted Communications Global.
-
Res founder Hai Tran registers as a subcontractor for Piro Inc on the Israeli account.
-
The Hanover Institute publishes 124 reports totaling over 560,000 words.
-
First media reports emerge questioning the legitimacy of the Hanover Institute.
-
The Guardian publishes a detailed investigation into the campaign's funding and AI-gaming tactics.
// Perspectives
[Israeli Foreign Ministry]
Denies conducting 'influence operations' in the US and maintains that it scrupulously follows American law.
[Piro Inc]
Argues they are providing 'AI Story Optimization' to ensure credible, sourced facts are recognized by Large Language Models.
[Quincy Institute]
Views the operation as a deceptive marketing attempt to blunt legitimate human rights criticisms through technical manipulation of AI.
[Anonymous Israeli Officials]
Express frustration and skepticism, labeling the high-cost campaign a waste of money that has failed to improve Israel's international standing.
// Quotes
“It succeeds in masquerading as very academic – the website design, the logos, everything just looks good. But the more you read it, you’re able to realise that a lot of it makes no sense.”
“LLM grooming, poisoning, whatever you want to call it, is part of the new reality that we live in.”
“The firm was retained to put accurate, sourced facts into the public record and to counter misinformation about Israel with verifiable information.”
“Hasbara is always the refuge of all failures. Everything is going great – only the hasbara is garbage.”
