A website operating under the name of the Hanover Institute for Public Policy, which appears to exist only online without legal registration or named staff, published extensive content designed to influence artificial intelligence systems on Israel-related topics. The site was created by a New York media company called Piro Inc, which filed disclosure documents with the US Justice Department this month identifying it as material distributed for the Israeli government under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
Between early August and mid-August, the institute published 124 reports totaling more than 560,000 words, with particularly intense output on certain days when dozens of articles were released. The content addressed controversial subjects including Israeli military actions, Palestinian casualties, and allegations of genocide, all presented in academic format with extensive citations from international organizations and human rights groups. However, analysis found the framing consistently minimized criticism of Israel, frequently noting that courts have not rendered verdicts on allegations and attributing casualty figures to “a party to the events” to create ambiguity.
The operation appears designed to optimize content for discovery by AI chatbots rather than human readers. The site initially used a technical file standard to AI systems, later replaced with a custom version after the project became public. Piro Inc advertises services it calls AI Story Optimization, engineering content based on how language models evaluate credibility. A contractor to the project, identified as a digital strategist, registered with US authorities in July as a subcontractor on the Israeli government account.
The effort is part of a larger campaign financed by tens of millions of dollars from the Israeli government and routed through intermediaries including international advertising firm Havas Media. The initiative comes at a time when polling indicates Israel’s standing in US public opinion has declined significantly. Israeli officials have begun indicating that spending on public diplomacy efforts overseas may not be yielding expected results.
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