Araghchi raps Israel’s social media push to sway US public opinion
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi denounced a recently revealed Israeli propaganda campaign aimed at drumming up support for the regime on social media.
In a post on his X account on Monday, Araghchi said, “We don’t pay people to lie on social media. That’s what Israel does.”
The comment followed a report by the Quincy Institute, which said that the Israeli regime pays a group of approximately 14 to 18 social media influencers around $7,000 for each promotional post aimed at creating a positive image of the regime in American public opinion.
As global public opinion shifts decisively against Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza, the regime is intensifying efforts to dominate the space through a network of paid influencers, algorithm manipulation, AI content framing and covert media partnerships.
At the center of the campaign is a covert influence operation, exposed in documents filed under the US Foreign Agents Registration Act. The Israeli foreign ministry, through its contractor Bridges Partners, has reportedly paid up to $7,000 per post for influencers to publish pro-Israel content on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram.
According to Responsible Statecraft, the “Influencer Campaign” was budgeted at $900,000 to cover 75–90 posts between June and September 2024. The content is being produced under an initiative called the “Esther Project.”
The name bears resemblance to a separate initiative by the right-wing US think tank, the Heritage Foundation, which launched its own “Project Esther” in October 2024. The Heritage campaign aims to identify and counter what it describes as “antisemitic” rhetoric on US campuses and in public discourse — an effort that critics say equates legitimate criticism of Israel with support for terrorism.