Investigation claims network of websites aimed to shape information used by large language models
WASHINGTON: An investigation published by Drop Site News has alleged that the Israeli government funded a multimillion-dollar digital campaign designed to influence how artificial intelligence systems respond to questions about the Gaza war.
According to the report, Brad Parscale, former campaign manager for US President Donald Trump, and his firm, Clock Tower X, received a US$46.5 million contract to create a network of websites promoting pro-Israel narratives.
Drop Site reported that the websites published hundreds of articles covering the Gaza war, Israeli military operations and US-Israel relations. The report alleges the content was designed to be indexed by search engines and incorporated into the datasets used by large language models such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity.
The report described the strategy as an attempt to influence AI-generated responses by increasing the visibility of selected narratives in online training material.
Websites reportedly entered AI datasets
According to Drop Site, websites including Allyvia.org, FactSignal.org and Paxpoint.org presented perspectives supportive of Israel, defended Israeli military actions and challenged accusations regarding Israel’s conduct during the conflict.
The report further claimed that some AI systems had already cited the websites in responses to user queries. It also stated that content from the network had been archived by Common Crawl, a widely used web repository that contributes to datasets used for training some AI models.
Herve Letoqueux, chief executive of digital disinformation monitoring organisation Check First, told the publication that publicly available web content can influence AI outputs if it becomes part of commonly used datasets.
Experts discuss broader implications
Letoqueux told Drop Site that websites presenting sourced material and moderate language could shape chatbot responses because AI systems often summarise multiple viewpoints when answering controversial questions.
The report also linked the alleged campaign to efforts to influence public discourse surrounding the Gaza war, amid changing public opinion in the United States since the conflict began.
Neither the allegations reported by Drop Site nor the claimed impact on AI systems have been independently verified. The article did not include a response from the Israeli government or Clock Tower X regarding the allegations.
