Israeli Psychological Operations: Examining Tactics of Misinformation and Media Manipulation

Israeli whistleblowers have exposed the inner workings of a sophisticated military propaganda operation designed to shape public perception of Israel’s actions both domestically and internationally, according to a joint investigation by Hebrew-language outlet “The Hottest Place in Hell” and “+972 Magazine.”

Former personnel from the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Spokesman’s Unit revealed what they described as “a systematic pattern” of media manipulation, including preferential treatment for compliant journalists, punitive measures against critical voices, and a pervasive “organizational culture of deception.”

As the primary conduit between the military and the public, the Spokesman’s Unit wields significant influence over information flow. Journalists must go through this unit to access military information, verify details, or interview officials – a position that whistleblowers say is “often abused to distort media coverage” and manipulate public perception.

The investigation uncovered that between October 2023 and December 2024, the IDF operated a covert psychological operations campaign specifically targeting public opinion during Israel’s military operations in Gaza. The campaign originated from the “campaigns division” of the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.

One of the unit’s primary tasks involved processing footage from Hamas’ October 7 attack. Military personnel gathered extensive visual material, including content filmed by Hamas militants, and reformatted it for rapid distribution across social media platforms. This effort culminated in the 47-minute propaganda video “Bearing Witness to the October 7 Massacre,” produced under the supervision of Major Yuval Horowitz, head of the campaigns division.

“It was like the Wild West — there was no censorship,” one military whistleblower told investigators. Another described the frantic atmosphere: “We were flooded with material and saw everything. I was in shock, but at the same time, there was pressure to distribute as much as possible — it was like in a social media advertising campaign: What works? What doesn’t? What gets attention?”

The same unit also worked on messaging around Israel’s military actions against Iran. “The IDF Spokesperson lies,” one senior military correspondent revealed. “Sometimes it’s about manipulating data, but ultimately the public is the one caught off guard.”

Another example cited was the military’s claim during “Operation Roaring Lion” that it had destroyed 70 percent of Iran’s missile launchers. This assertion was quickly discovered to be misleading, as journalists found that some targets were tunnel entrances rather than launchers, and many supposedly “destroyed” launchers remained operational.

In October and November 2023, the unit allegedly created fake media operations – a WhatsApp group and YouTube channel both titled “Fact Check” – which posed as independent non-profit organizations while actually functioning as military propaganda outlets. Though these channels achieved limited success, the unit reportedly pivoted to recruiting dozens of Israeli and pro-Israeli international influencers with large followings, including figures like Noa Tishby and Sarai Givaty.

These influencers amplified military-coordinated messaging across various platforms, reaching millions of viewers with content that advanced specific narratives: claims that Jews cannot be considered colonizers in Palestine, assertions that Israel’s actions in Gaza do not constitute genocide, and defenses against war crimes allegations at the International Court of Justice.

“The channels targeted foreign audiences and presented themselves as objective and unaffiliated with Israel,” said one soldier involved in the operation. “But everything was created within our unit and clearly promoted the Israeli narrative.”

The investigation also revealed how the IDF’s “correspondents cell” controls media access, promoting “good stories” to the press while filtering out journalists critical of Israeli military actions in favor of more compliant reporters. Yaniv Kubovich, a Haaretz journalist, described the relationship between the IDF Spokesperson and media as “absurd,” noting that “the dependency is absolute” and allows military officials to control who journalists speak with and when.

“After October 7, with all the trauma it experienced, the IDF is doing everything it can to suppress reporting that exposes failures, ethical issues, or command shortcomings, instead of examining what actually happened,” Kubovich added.

The whistleblowers’ testimonies provide a rare glimpse into actual Israeli influence operations, moving beyond speculation to document the systematic manipulation of media narratives during an ongoing conflict.