Israel Accused of $50 Million Disinformation Campaign to Mask Gaza Genocide
A damning investigation by Eurovision News, published by Spanish broadcaster RTVE, has unveiled a sophisticated Israeli digital propaganda campaign aimed at denying the unfolding humanitarian crisis and documented famine in Gaza. The $50 million campaign, launched through Israel’s state-run advertising agency Lapam, utilizes paid advertisements across major platforms like Google, YouTube, X (formerly Twitter), and others to manipulate global public opinion. The timing of the campaign coincides with Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza City, which has further intensified the already dire situation and drawn widespread international condemnation. This revelation exposes a calculated effort to control the narrative while the UN has formally classified Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide.
The investigation, titled “The new front of war: Inside Israel’s digital ‘hasbara’ offensive,” details how the campaign specifically targets and attempts to discredit reports of famine in Gaza, despite assessments from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the global standard for measuring food insecurity. Lapam has reportedly promoted videos showcasing bustling markets in Gaza, garnering over 30 million views through paid promotion, to counter the IPC’s famine declaration. This manipulation of online content seeks to create a false image of normalcy, contradicting the lived reality of Palestinians experiencing systematic starvation as a weapon of war.
The Israeli disinformation campaign extends beyond simply depicting full markets. It also includes targeted advertisements that encourage users to question the validity of the IPC famine report, directing them to an Israeli government website designed to undermine the internationally recognized assessment. This coordinated strategy, launched on the same day the IPC released its initial famine assessment, demonstrates a systematic effort to discredit credible humanitarian assessments through paid digital manipulation and control the information accessible to the global public. This information warfare runs parallel to the physical assault on Gaza, creating a two-pronged attack that obscures the reality on the ground.
Documentary evidence reveals the extent of Lapam’s activities, spanning from 2018 to July 2025, showing a consistent pattern of using Google and Meta platforms to promote pro-Israel narratives and counter criticism of its policies. The scale of the operation has dramatically escalated in 2025, with over 4,000 advertisements run between January and early September, half of which targeted international audiences. This significant increase coincides with the intensification of Israeli military operations in Gaza, indicating a concerted effort to shape international perception during a period of heightened conflict.
Beyond denying the famine, the campaign also targets critics of Israel’s policies, including UN officials like Francesca Albanese, the special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories. Albanese has been the target of paid advertisements across Europe accusing her of antisemitism for criticizing Israeli actions. This tactic reveals a disturbing trend of using accusations of antisemitism to silence legitimate criticism and deflect attention from human rights abuses. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, has also been targeted, with advertisements directing users to an Israeli government website labeling the organization a “front for Hamas.” This systematic targeting of international humanitarian organizations further exposes the breadth and depth of Israel’s digital warfare strategy.
The revelations of this disinformation campaign are particularly significant as they coincide with a UN commission of inquiry finding that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. The commission concluded Israeli authorities have committed four of the five acts defined as genocide under the 1948 Genocide Convention: killing, causing serious bodily harm, deliberately inflicting conditions to destroy Palestinians, and imposing measures to prevent births. This, coupled with the complete blackout of internet and landline services in Gaza City following Israeli strikes on network infrastructure, makes it even more difficult for the world to witness and understand the severity of the situation. The international community has strongly condemned Israel’s latest offensive, with descriptions ranging from “horrific” to posing “grave risk to civilians.” Despite mounting diplomatic pressure, Israel’s digital propaganda machine continues its operation, spending millions to control the narrative amidst what international investigators have deemed genocide. This systematic manipulation of information represents a dangerous new frontier in modern warfare, where state-sponsored disinformation campaigns can obscure atrocities and manipulate public opinion on a global scale.
