Netanyahu paid Google $45 mln to spread Israeli propaganda
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Drop Site News reveals Google’s $45 million deal with Netanyahu’s office to fund a propaganda campaign denying famine in Gaza and targeting the UN.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, chairs the weekly cabinet meeting in Occupied al-Quds, Sunday, February 12, 2023. (AP Photo)
An investigation by Drop Site News has revealed that Google is engaged in a six-month, $45 million agreement with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office to promote propaganda through digital platforms. The contract identifies Google as a “key entity” in advancing the prime minister’s messaging strategy.
The contract surfaced just hours after "Israel" announced a complete blockade on food, fuel, medicine, and humanitarian supplies entering Gaza on March 2, 2025. Rather than addressing the humanitarian disaster, members of the Knesset focused on how Netanyahu’s office was preparing to contain the international backlash.
During a hearing, Avichai Edrei, spokesperson for the Israeli army, reportedly suggested launching digital campaigns to deny reports of hunger in Gaza. According to government records reviewed by Drop Site News, the prime minister’s advertising bureau soon initiated a vast messaging drive, deploying influencers and investing heavily in paid advertising on Google, YouTube, Meta, and X.
One widely promoted video on YouTube, published by the foreign ministry, declared: “There is food in Gaza. Any other claim is a lie.” The video, which has amassed over six million views, was amplified through the secretive $45 million campaign run with Google’s advertising arm, Display & Video 360.
Expanding the propaganda network
Drop Site News found that the campaign explicitly describes itself as hasbara, the Hebrew term for state propaganda. Additional contracts include $3 million for ads on X and $2.1 million through Outbrain/Teads.
The push coincides with mounting evidence of famine. In August, the UN confirmed famine conditions in Gaza governorate, while warning that Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis were on the brink. The UN’s humanitarian office OCHA described the crisis as “a descent into a massive famine.” While Gaza’s health ministry has reported at least 367 deaths from hunger, including 131 children.
Still, Israeli officials defended the policy. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stated that Palestinians could “die of hunger or surrender,” while Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu argued on the radio that “the Palestinians need to starve” and should consider emigration.
Targeting the UN and civil society
The investigation by Drop Site News highlights how the campaign also seeks to discredit international bodies. Ads have accused the UN of “deliberate sabotage” of aid delivery and promoted the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, backed by "Israel", the US, and undisclosed European allies.
Google, this is getting out of hand. Israel is running almost 6,000 ad campaigns on your platform.
— Nima (@Nimaeux) July 11, 2025
How is it acceptable for this to be the first search result when googling "UN news aid distribution"?
You're spreading mass propaganda.
Is any other country allowed to do this? pic.twitter.com/qU3Dsm1LUo
Another initiative focused on delegitimizing UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, echoing earlier reports by WIRED. Hadas Maimon of the diaspora ministry admitted that the government had been running anti-UNRWA efforts for nearly a year.
In addition, campaigns attacked the Hind Rajab Foundation, a Palestinian rights group documenting war crimes, portraying it as linked to “extremist ideologies.”
Google under fire
The deal comes as Google faces growing criticism for its ties with "Israel." UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese accused the company of profiting from the genocide in Gaza due to its contracts under Project Nimbus, a cloud computing partnership with the Israeli military.
when you google Francesca Albanese, the special rapporteur for human rights in palestine who has been outspoken about the genocide since it started, the literal first result is a sponsored link to an israeli website that talks about how she “violates UN ethics” pic.twitter.com/V0ny992jQc
— arjun (@ShinyArjun) July 28, 2025
Google co-founder Sergey Brin reportedly dismissed the UN’s criticism as “transparently antisemitic” in internal discussions.
According to Drop Site News, the latest propaganda contracts were not limited to Gaza but also tied to "Operation Rising Lion," a series of Israeli aggressions on Iran that killed at least 935 Iranians, according to the Iranian government. The prime minister’s office mobilized Google and other platforms to rally international support for the strikes.
On June 12th I could only find 2 or 3 articles about Israel bombing Iran for nearly 24 hours, and only in German and Spanish. It was literally impossible to find English language information about it on Google. Other search engines had DOZENS of articles about it in English. https://t.co/W33QncHYkC
— U$OPP Rocky (@DemonKingEddy) September 4, 2025
