Fake US thinktank funded by Israel floods AI with 560,000 words in 9 days
Fake US thinktank set up and funded by Israel sought to game AI for propaganda
A pro-Israel messaging site, the Hanover Institute for Public Policy, has published over 560,000 words in nine days, posing as a neutral thinktank to influence AI chatbots. The site, filed with the US Justice Department as a foreign agent for Israel, is part of a $24.9 million campaign routed through Havas Media to game AI outputs. The Guardian's analysis reveals the site's academic facade, with reports citing sources like the World Bank and Amnesty International, but framing content to blunt criticism of Israel. Experts warn the real target is AI training data, making the propaganda harder to detect.
When it regurgitates narratives the chatbot is trained on, it won’t even cite the sources – you won’t be able to fact-check it.