Fake US thinktank set up and funded by Israel sought to game AI for propaganda
A fake US thinktank called the Hanover Institute for Public Policy was created and funded by Israel to produce pro-Israel content optimized for AI chatbot citation The site published 124 reports totaling over 560,000 words in just nine days (August 6-14), all framed as neutral academic research The content was built on Res, a commercial "AI-native content platform" specializing in generative engine optimization to get cited by ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Gemini Piro Inc, a New York media co
Analysis
TL;DR
- A fake US thinktank called the Hanover Institute for Public Policy was created and funded by Israel to produce pro-Israel content optimized for AI chatbot citation
- The site published 124 reports totaling over 560,000 words in just nine days (August 6-14), all framed as neutral academic research
- The content was built on Res, a commercial "AI-native content platform" specializing in generative engine optimization to get cited by ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Gemini
- Piro Inc, a New York media company, filed the site under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) as material distributed for the Israeli government
- The reports used quasi-academic formatting with citations from credible sources but employed framing tactics to blunt criticism of Israel, including repeated claims that "no court has entered a verdict" on genocide/apartheid allegations
Why It Matters
This represents a significant case study in how foreign governments can exploit AI optimization techniques to manipulate information ecosystems and shape chatbot outputs at scale. It raises urgent questions about content provenance, AI training data integrity, and the vulnerability of generative systems to coordinated propaganda campaigns.
Technical Details
- The Hanover Institute site initially carried a standard
llms.txtfile from Res (an AI-native content platform), which was later replaced with a bespoke version after Guardian exposure on August 13 - Res founder Hai Tran registered as a subcontractor to Piro Inc under FARA on July 22, listing his role as "digital strategist"
- Piro Inc advertises a service called "AI Story Optimization" that authors content "engineered for how LLMs evaluate credibility"
- The 124 reports averaged approximately 4,500 words each, with a burst of 73 reports (354,000 words) published on August 12-13 alone
- Headlines were deliberately structured as chatbot-style questions (e.g., "Is Israel Carrying Out a Genocide in Gaza?") to match common user queries
- Citation patterns revealed manipulation: a single 2022 study on antisemitic Facebook comments was cited 454 times across 88 reports on unrelated topics
Industry Insight
- AI companies must develop more robust content provenance and source verification systems to detect and resist coordinated optimization campaigns designed to game their training and retrieval pipelines
- The rise of "generative engine optimization" as a commercial service creates new vectors for state-sponsored influence operations that exploit the trust AI systems place in structured, well-cited content
- Researchers and practitioners should treat AI-optimized content platforms with heightened skepticism, particularly when sources lack verifiable institutional backing, physical addresses, or named staff
Disclaimer: The above content is generated by AI and is for reference only.