Following warning by late Charlie Kirk, Israel adopts new strategy to target misinformation

The Israeli government is implementing changes to its international messaging, based on recommendations from Evangelical Christian political activist Charlie Kirk, according to reports in Israeli media. 

Almost three months after Kirk’s assassination, the Foreign Ministry, led by Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and in cooperation with the Prime Minister’s Office, has begun to address some of the concerns Charlie Kirk raised in the last letter he sent to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In that letter, Kirk highlighted the growing trend of young people being more sympathetic of the Hamas position. 

He related that in campus events across America that often drew thousands of students, he increasingly fielded questions about Israel and its conduct in Gaza based on anti-Israel narratives, often encountered online. 

Kirk noted that while Israel was successfully fighting a war on seven fronts in the military arena, it was “losing the information war.” He noted that the country appeared to be conducting its media relations under the philosophy of “everyone already hates us, so what’s the point of trying?” 

In his recommendations, Kirk advised Israel not to rely on American pro-Israel advocates, but instead to develop a direct outreach towards the younger generation. 

Based on Kirk’s warning and recommendations, the government is establishing a media rapid response team, which will involve a collaboration between various government agencies, including real-time monitoring of hostile narratives on social media, identifying trends, formulating an appropriate response, and using methods of action similar to digital campaigns in American politics. 

Additionally, a "facts site" was established to serve as a single knowledge center, providing background, basic facts, legal and historical context, and the security framework necessary for understanding Israel and the broader region. The site will serve as the foundation for a network of digital platforms targeting different audiences: university students, Evangelical Christians, American liberals, Latino communities, American Jews, African American communities, and more. 

The site is expected to broaden over the coming years to include different languages, short video content, and personal testimonies. As part of the effort, the government is working to empower Israelis to talk about the situation in Israel in their own voice, telling their personal stories. This follows Kirk’s recommendation that audiences need to “see faces, hear personal experiences, and feel humanity.” He warned that statements by Israel that it was justified in its actions were not convincing to the younger generation. 

As part of this effort, the government will help provide influencers with access to production, editing, subtitling, and studio support, so that their voices are not only heard, but also sound good, clean, and professional. 

This new focus is also behind the support given to former hostages and victims of the Gaza War to visit the United States, meeting Americans face to face, being interviewed by media, being seen and heard by the American audience. 

This new strategy also explains the selection of a new spokesperson, Shosh Bedrosian, giving a central voice for foreign media messaging, instead of having multiple spokespersons for the Prime Minister’s Office, the IDF, the Foreign Ministry, and the Government Press Office. The choice of a single voice helps to simplify and unify messaging for the government.