Israel-Linked Fake US Thinktank Targets AI Chatbots

A website marketed under the name of a US thinktank that does not appear to exist has published more than 560,000 words in nine days, according to analysis, in an effort designed to steer AI chatbots toward pro-Israel arguments.

The site, calling itself the Hanover Institute for Public Policy, presents Israel’s positions on topics including allegations involving Palestinian prisoners, claims of Israeli war crimes and whether Israel deliberately starved Palestinians in Gaza. The material is framed in a quasi-academic style and is laid out with citations to organisations and documents, while avoiding conclusions that rely on legal findings. The existence of the project was first reported on 14 August.

Fake Thinktank, Rapid Output

Guardian analysis found that between 6 and 14 August the Hanover Institute published 124 reports totalling more than 560,000 words, averaging around 4,500 words each. On 12 and 13 August alone, it published 73 reports amounting to almost 354,000 words in two days. No further material was posted after the initial run.

Most headlines begin with question wording similar to prompts used in chatbot searches, including queries such as “Is Anti-Zionism Antisemitism?” and “Is Israel Carrying Out a Genocide in Gaza?”

The reports frequently use caveats, including statements that no court has issued a verdict on claims such as genocide or apartheid, appearing in 20 of the 124 reports in the Guardian’s count. Casualty and aid figures are also attributed to “a party to the events” in 55 reports, including cases where Israel’s own figures are used.

One study on antisemitic comments on European media Facebook pages is cited heavily across the website, according to the analysis. The study is referenced 454 times across 88 of the 124 reports, including in articles about seemingly unrelated topics.

Targeting Chatbots through Search and Training Data

The Guardian reported that the site initially carried an AI-readable file intended for machine indexing, but it did not describe the Hanover Institute. It later replaced that file with a version written for machine readers, and the earlier platform name it referenced was removed.

The underlying approach described by researchers is twofold: publishing pages that chatbots may cite, and placing material into large repositories that can feed training data for commercial AI models. The analysis said an earlier network of sites had already appeared repeatedly in Common Crawl’s index, the repository used by model developers, and that the Hanover Institute’s reports were posted after that particular crawl closed, placing them at the start of a new phase of the pipeline.

Tests described by the Guardian found that when users asked for new research, ChatGPT’s web-enabled chatbot provided links to some Hanover reports but also warned of “significant controversy” about who funds the institute and why it exists, including linking to reporting from the Quincy Institute.

Foreign Agent Registration and Funding Trail

The New York media production company Piro Inc filed the Hanover Institute website with the US Department of Justice this month under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, a 1938 law requiring disclosure by those working for foreign governments. The filing identifies material distributed for the Israeli government.

Piro is described as contracted for $1m across two work orders, the Guardian said, but this is presented as part of a much larger effort. Both Piro and another firm associated with former Trump campaign staff are subcontractors to Havas Media Germany GmbH, ultimately held by Havas NV.

Justice filings cited by the Guardian show Havas named intermediaries across multiple foreign-agent registrations, and record payments to subcontractors including $15m in six instalments for Clock Tower X and $9,892,335 for Targeted Communications Global.

In Israel, procurement records cited by the Guardian show the advertising agency LaPam awarding Havas entities contracts without competitive tender across several years, including large sums for planning and purchases of media abroad. The Guardian also reported that Israel officials have questioned the effectiveness of overseas public diplomacy and of efforts to game AI systems.

Israeli Doubts and Shifting US Views

Israel’s foreign ministry said it does not run “influence operations” in the United States and that it follows American law, while Piro’s co-founder Daniel Rosenberg said the firm was retained to provide accurate, sourced information and counter misinformation.

The Guardian said the push comes as US polling has turned against Israel’s positions, citing shifts in sympathy ratings and increasing majorities describing unfavourable views of Israel, alongside rising shares saying Israel’s Gaza military actions amount to genocide.

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26 August 2026