Mazal tov: Israel finally joined the cognitive war - opinion

Israel's $50 million US influence campaign, revealed by The Wall Street Journal, marks a shift from hasbara to strategic cognitive warfare. The author argues the campaign fails by treating national security as marketing, using anonymous AI personas, and lacking integrated command. Without trust and policy feedback, the effort risks backfiring.

The Wall Street Journal revealed that Israel is spending roughly $50 million on an American influence campaign involving AI-generated text messages, conservative media, online influencers, and former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale. Millions of Americans have received messages from seemingly friendly senders named "Emma" or "Sarah," asking for opinions about Israel, Iran, and global security. The story came days after Vice President JD Vance accused some Israeli officials of attempting to manipulate American opinion to prolong the Iran conflict. The author, Jeffrey Kahn, argues that while Israel is right to invest in cognitive defense, the campaign fails by treating an existential national-security responsibility as a marketing challenge that can be outsourced to advertising agencies and political consultants. He criticizes the use of anonymous AI personas, which risk making recipients feel manipulated, and the lack of an integrated national command structure. Kahn calls for a permanent cognitive-security directorate that measures success by policy outcomes rather than clicks and impressions.