Inside Israel’s Secret Influence Network: Paid U.S. Firms, TikTok Manipulation, and AI Propaganda Claims

 

Investigation: Claims About Bridges Partners, Clock Tower X, Oracle and Israeli Digital Propaganda

Background

A widely shared VocalPolitics report alleges that Israel is using Western PR firms, Gen‑Z influencers and the proposed U.S. acquisition of TikTok to embed pro‑Israel narratives, normalise the occupation and censor dissent. This investigation uses recent FARA filings, mainstream reporting and human‑rights documentation to verify or refute four core claims.

Claim 1 – Bridges Partners, a Washington‑based firm linked to former “IOF intelligence officers,” is paying influencers up to $7 000 per post for 75–90 posts on TikTok, Instagram and other platforms

• Evidence from FARA filings – Responsible Statecraft obtained FARA documents showing that Bridges Partners (acting for Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs) budgeted US$900 000 for an “influencer campaign” called the Esther Project during June‑November 2025. The documents listed 14–18 influencers and required them to produce 75–90 posts targeted at young Americans. After subtracting legal and production costs, Responsible Statecraft estimated that the funds available to pay influencers amounted to roughly US$6 143–7 372 per postresponsiblestatecraft.org. The campaign thus exists, and the payment figures align with the report.

• Personnel background – The same FARA documents show that Bridges Partners enlisted Nadav Shtrauchler, a former major in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson unit, to advise the campaignresponsiblestatecraft.org. There is no credible evidence that the firm is “linked to IOF intelligence officers”; the only disclosed connection is to a former IDF spokesperson major, not intelligence officers.

• Conclusion – The payment figures for influencers are supported by FARA filings, but the report’s characterization that Bridges Partners is linked to IOF intelligence officers exaggerates the available evidence. The known adviser is a former IDF spokesperson major, not an intelligence officer.

Claim 2 – Clock Tower X was hired for US$6 million to produce Gen Z‑targeted content, manipulate algorithms, optimize search engines and influence AI responses (including ChatGPT)

• Gen Z‑focused media campaign – FARA filings obtained by Responsible Statecraft show that Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs hired Clock Tower X LLC, run by Donald Trump’s former digital strategist Brad Parscale, for US$6 million. The firm is tasked with creating content for Gen Z audiences; 80 % of the content is aimed at TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, podcasts and similar platforms. The contract specifies that the campaign should achieve 50 million impressions per monthresponsiblestatecraft.org.

• Algorithm and AI manipulation – The FARA documents require Clock Tower X to build new websites designed to “deliver GPT framing results on GPT conversations”—in other words, to flood the internet with pro‑Israel content so that AI chatbots like ChatGPT produce more favorable outputsresponsiblestatecraft.org. The firm will also use MarketBrew AI, a search‑engine‑optimization tool that reverse‑engineers Google’s algorithms, to ensure pro‑Israel narratives appear higher in search resultsmiddleeastmonitor.com. These activities go beyond mere advertising and directly aim to influence how algorithms and AI models interpret Israel‑related queries.

• Integration with partisan media – Additional reporting indicates that Clock Tower X will integrate pro‑Israel messaging into Salem Media Network properties and other conservative outlets, further amplifying the campaignresponsiblestatecraft.org. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been personally involved in the strategy and has described social media as “our most important weapon,” instructing team members to treat it like a battlefieldmiddleeastmonitor.com.

• Conclusion – The claim is largely accurate. FARA filings confirm the US$6 million contract and show that Clock Tower X is designing content to manipulate AI responses and search‑engine algorithms. The campaign aims to reach Gen Z audiences through TikTok and other platforms and to seed the internet with pro‑Israel content that influences AI and algorithmic outputs.

Claim 3 – Oracle executives who are major donors to Israel’s military are positioned to shape TikTok’s proposed US$14 billion US acquisition to embed “love for Israel” messaging

• Safra Catz’s email – In a leaked 2015 email to former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Oracle CEO Safra Catz wrote that they must “embed the love and respect for Israel in the American culture” by reaching young Americans before they enter college. She discussed a reality‑TV initiative aimed at humanising the IDF and said fighting the BDS movement must start early.

• Oracle’s pro‑Israel posture – Responsible Statecraft later reported that Catz told an Israeli newspaper that Oracle employees who disagree with supporting Israel might be “in the wrong company”responsiblestatecraft.org. Oracle co‑founder Larry Ellison, the world’s second‑richest person, has donated more than US$26 million to the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces and publicly declared that he and Catz “love our country of Israel”responsiblestatecraft.org.

• TikTok acquisition – As part of a deal pushed by the U.S. government, Oracle and other investors have sought to purchase TikTok’s U.S. operations. Catz led negotiations until September 2024 and Ellison is expected to play a roleresponsiblestatecraft.org. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu described the potential TikTok purchase as “the most important” acquisition because social media is a battlefieldresponsiblestatecraft.org.

• Assessment – The leaked email and subsequent reporting show that Safra Catz and Larry Ellison hold strong pro‑Israel views and have donated heavily to Israeli military causes, and they are involved in the proposed TikTok purchase. However, there is no concrete evidence that Oracle has insisted on embedding “love for Israel” messaging into TikTok’s algorithm. The claim that Oracle would manipulate TikTok’s content in exchange for the US$14 billion deal is speculative. It is plausible given the executives’ views, but the available evidence only shows intent to promote pro‑Israel narratives broadly; it does not prove they will engineer TikTok to do so.

Claim 4 – Israel’s strategy includes social‑media campaigns, algorithmic control and censorship aimed at normalizing occupation, silencing resistance and controlling narratives abroad, especially in the United States

• Digital propaganda and influencer programs – The Esther Project and Clock Tower X campaigns are documented efforts to shape narratives on social media. FARA filings and press reports describe targeted influencer posts, algorithm‑friendly content, and AI‑manipulation strategies intended to reach American youthresponsiblestatecraft.orgresponsiblestatecraft.org. These campaigns aim to flood social media and search engines with pro‑Israel narratives and to make pro‑Israel framing appear in AI outputs and search resultsmiddleeastmonitor.com.

• Programmes to mobilize supporters – The Israeli government and pro‑Israel lobby groups run programs that pay or encourage supporters to post pro‑Israel messages and report “hostile” content. 7amleh and the Arab Center have documented Israel’s Act‑IL app and other initiatives that train volunteers to mass‑report and down‑rank pro‑Palestinian postsarabcenterdc.org. These campaigns seek to “occupy the information space” by overwhelming social networks with coordinated contentmiddleeastmonitor.com.

• Algorithmic control and censorship – Human Rights Watch (HRW) found that Meta’s Facebook and Instagram platforms systemically suppressed pro‑Palestinian content while leaving comparable pro‑Israel content largely untouched. HRW documented over 1 000 cases of unjustified takedowns of peaceful pro‑Palestinian posts in late 2023hrw.org. It identified multiple forms of censorship—account suspensions, restrictions on liking/sharing, shadow‑banning and the removal of comments—despite Meta’s promises to be transparenthrw.org.

• Israel’s Cyber Unit requests – HRW reports that Israel’s Cyber Unit, part of the state attorney’s office, submits content‑removal requests directly to social‑media companies based on their terms of service rather than court orders. Since Oct 7 2023 the Cyber Unit sent about 9 500 requests, roughly 60 % of which went to Meta platforms. Israeli officials claim platforms complied with 94 % of these requestshrw.org. The Cyber Unit’s overall compliance rate has never fallen below 77 % and reached 92 % in 2018hrw.org. In 2021 the Unit issued 5 990 removal or restriction requests, around 90 % directed at Facebook and Instagramhrw.org. Human‑rights groups argue that these requests, combined with automated moderation, lead to overbroad censorship of Palestinian perspectiveshrw.org.

• Legal repression and offline censorship – HRW and the Arab Center note that Israeli authorities arrest and interrogate Palestinians for social‑media posts and recently criminalised the “consumption of terrorist materials,” giving police wide latitude to target online expressionhrw.org. Adalah documented hundreds of cases of Palestinians being warned or arrested for their online speech during October–November 2023hrw.org. Meanwhile pro‑Palestinian protests and speech have been restricted or criminalised in several Western countries, further narrowing space for dissenthrw.org.

• Conclusion – There is substantial evidence that Israel’s strategy includes coordinated social‑media campaigns, algorithmic manipulation, and censorship. The influencer programs (Esther Project, Clock Tower X) and AI‑manipulation efforts aim to normalise pro‑Israel narratives, particularly among U.S. youth. Israeli authorities work with social‑media platforms to remove content at high compliance rates, while human‑rights groups document widespread suppression of pro‑Palestinian speech. Together, these actions support the claim that Israel seeks to control the narrative and silence opposition, although the broader context includes censorship by other governments and tech companies.

Overall Assessment

• True aspects – FARA filings and investigative reporting confirm that Israel is funding influencer campaigns (Esther Project) and has contracted Clock Tower X to produce Gen Z‑targeted content, manipulate search‑engine results and influence AI responsesresponsiblestatecraft.orgresponsiblestatecraft.org. Oracle executives Safra Catz and Larry Ellison have a long record of pro‑Israel advocacy and are involved in the proposed TikTok acquisitionresponsiblestatecraft.org. Israel’s Cyber Unit submits thousands of content‑removal requests, and Meta has removed large amounts of peaceful pro‑Palestinian content, indicating systematic censorshiphrw.orghrw.org.

• Exaggerated or unproven elements – There is no evidence that Bridges Partners is linked to IOF intelligence officers; only a former IDF spokesperson major is known to be involvedresponsiblestatecraft.org. While Safra Catz’s email demonstrates an intent to embed pro‑Israel sentiment in American culture, there is no concrete proof that Oracle intends to manipulate TikTok’s algorithm to push pro‑Israel messaging. Thus, claims that the TikTok acquisition is explicitly designed to “embed love for Israel” remain speculative.

Recommendations for Readers

1. Evaluate sources carefully – Distinguish between verified facts (documented FARA filings and credible reporting) and speculative claims.

2. Demand transparency – Social‑media platforms should publish data on government content‑removal requests and algorithmic interventions, and they should notify users when their content is removed at a government’s requesthrw.org.

3. Support accountability – Governments and companies involved in foreign influence campaigns should be held accountable under transparency laws such as the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act. Influencers receiving payment from foreign governments must register to ensure disclosure.

4. Protect free expression – Policymakers and civil‑society organizations should challenge overly broad censorship, whether by Israel, tech companies or other governments, and defend the universal right to information and peaceful advocacy.

This comprehensive report details the evidence supporting or refuting claims surrounding Bridges Partners' influencer campaign, the Clock Tower X contract, Oracle's involvement in a potential TikTok acquisition, and Israel's broader strategy of digital propaganda and censorship. It evaluates the veracity of each claim based on documented FARA filings, investigative journalism, and human-rights reports.