Israel's $700M Cognitive Warfare Campaign Targets 60% US Unfavorable Rating

For the space and defense sector, Israel's $700M campaign is far more than public diplomacy—it's a live-fire exercise in cognitive warfare. By weaponizing AI to micro-target millions of Americans and leveraging political influencers, Israel is redefining how states conduct perception management and raising urgent questions about the militarization of information.

Israel is conducting an unprecedented, multi-faceted influence campaign in the United States, leveraging artificial intelligence, political allies, and massive financial resources to reverse a steep decline in American public opinion. A March 2026 Pew Research poll revealed that 60% of U.S. adults hold an unfavorable view of Israel, driven largely by its handling of protracted conflicts in Gaza and Iran. In response, the Israeli government has allocated more than $700 million in its 2026 budget to “shape consciousness” and improve its global image, according to Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar. The cornerstone of this effort is a $45 million-plus contract with Brad Parscale, a longtime Trump adviser, whose firm deploys AI-generated text messages from innocuous-sounding personas like “Emma” or “Sarah” under the banner “Friends for Peace.” Millions of such texts have flooded American cellphones in recent months, asking recipients questions about U.S.-Israel peace talks with Iran, aiming to subtly reframe the narrative.

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For the space and defense sector, Israel's $700M campaign is far more than public diplomacy—it's a live-fire exercise in cognitive warfare.

The campaign is far broader than AI texting. Israel has retained at least six firms and registered three dozen new marketing professionals as foreign agents in the U.S. It also directly pays conservative media outlets, creating a networked influence operation that blends traditional lobbying with cutting-edge computational propaganda. The sheer scale—$730 million officially earmarked, with insiders suggesting the real figure is far higher—marks a quantum leap in state-sponsored public diplomacy, transforming it into information warfare.

The initiative has drawn sharp criticism from within the U.S. government. Vice President JD Vance, speaking on Joe Rogan’s podcast, accused Israeli officials of “manipulating and trying to change American public opinion to keep the war going on indefinitely,” alleging that the campaign undermines U.S. negotiations to end the Iran conflict. Parscale denied any such intent, framing the effort as a necessary counter to Iranian and pro-Palestinian misinformation, stating, “The existential threat to Israel is misinformation, from any side.” The tension underscores the delicate line between legitimate public diplomacy and covert influence, especially when an allied government targets American citizens with AI-driven messaging.

Strategically, this operation reflects Israel’s recognition that military superiority alone cannot secure its interests in an era where perception often shapes policy. By deploying AI, Israel gains the ability to personalize messaging at massive scale—an approach traditionally reserved for commercial marketers. The use of a Trump insider’s firm further integrates the campaign into domestic U.S. political networks, amplifying its reach and credibility among conservative audiences. The 60% unfavorable rating, if left unchecked, could weaken bipartisan support for Israel in Congress and shift U.S. foreign policy, making this a high-stakes endeavor.