Israel seeded the Hanover Institute ghost think tank to influence AI chatbots

124 reports in nine days, no authors, and an llms.txt file sitting on the site.

Gizmodo‘s Matt Novak: Israel has spent at least $100 million since 2023 to influence opinions in the US, according to Politico, and $1 billion globally.

Some of that money went to seed pro-Israel information on the internet in an effort to get picked up by AI chatbots. Gizmodo names ChatGPT and Claude as the intended pickup. No source here shows they ingested the reports.

The technique is commonly called Generative Engine Optimization. A PR firm working for the country appears to have used an opaque think tank called the Hanover Institute for Public Policy to create reports that might get picked up that way.

The Guardian, via Gizmodo: Hanover does not exist as a legal entity and has no physical address. No information about real staff. None of the reports list an author.

Hanover’s site, via Gizmodo: “The researchers are not named because a finding should stand or fall on its sources rather than on the standing of whoever assembled it, and because the subject attracts harassment. That is a considered editorial position, not an oversight.”

Hanover content was created by French PR firm Havas Media, which files under FARA. Latest filings show Havas subcontractor Piro Inc. is seeding the site.

The FARA filing: goal is to “educate the U.S. public regarding Israel and related issues through publicly distributed content.”

One report insists a large amount of food aid has reached Gaza. Reports also try to suggest anti-Zionism is the same as anti-Semitism.

404 Media, via Gizmodo: the site includes an llms.txt file designed to make the content easier for LLMs to digest. Piro has an “AI Story Optimization” section describing an ability to manipulate AI chatbots to sell products.

The Guardian tally, via Gizmodo: 124 reports totaling over 560,000 words published in just nine days.

404 Media believes the content was largely created with AI. Gizmodo could not independently confirm that. The group did not immediately respond to Wednesday emails.

The llms.txt is still up. None of the reports list an author.

Sources

• Israel Seeds Internet With Articles From Opaque Group to Influence AI Chatbots – Gizmodo
• Israel’s new U.S. influence strategy – Politico Influence
• Fake US thinktank set up and funded by Israel sought to game AI for propaganda – The Guardian
• Israel Is Running a Synthetic Think Tank to Influence AI Search Results – 404 Media