Hanover Institute for Public Policy
| Created by | Piro, Inc. (on behalf of the Israel Government Advertising Agency) |
|---|---|
| URL | hanoverinstitute |
| Commercial | No |
| Launched | 2026 |
The Hanover Institute for Public Policy is a website created on behalf of the Israel Government Advertising Agency that publishes AI-generated pro-Israel content to influence output by search engines and chatbots.[1][2]
History
The institute was established in 2026 by New York-based advertising company Piro, Inc., which is registered to work for Havas Media Germany GmbH on behalf of the Israel Government Advertising Agency.[1] Piro, Inc is owned by co-founders Daniel Rosenberg and Timothy Piper.[1]
The website publishes AI-generated reports concerning Israel and Palestine that are geared toward influencing the output of large language models.[2][3] In August 2026, Politico reported that Foreign Agents Registration Act filings showed that over a dozen articles on Hanover's website were part of a $100,000 Israeli government campaign focused on "the creation and dissemination of factual, source-supported informational materials intended to educate the U.S. public regarding Israel and related issues through publicly distributed content."[4] In tests of Perplexity and ChatGPT run by Politico, the chatbots, cited the Hanover Institute's material, specifically referring to its reports on Gaza, anti-Zionism and antisemitism.[4]
Reaction
The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft characterized Hanover as a "fake think tank", writing that the website's reports "appear to be part of an Israeli effort to influence chatbots."[3] 404 Media characterized Hanover as a "synthetic Israel-funded think tank."[2] In August 2026, The Spamhaus Project put the Hanover website URL on its Domain Blocklist.[5]
See also
References
- 1 2 3 Heller, Mathilda (2026-08-17). "Israel-linked $1 million US media campaign targeting Americans, filings show". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 2026-08-20. Retrieved 2026-08-20.
- 1 2 3 Gault, Matthew (2026-08-25). "Israel Is Running a Synthetic Think Tank to Influence AI Search Results". 404 Media. Retrieved 2026-08-25.
- 1 2 Cleveland-Stout, Nick (August 17, 2026). "Israel creates fake think tank in likely attempt to dupe AI chatbots". Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. Archived from the original on 2026-08-19. Retrieved 2026-08-20.
- 1 2 Wendler, Jacob (2026-08-14). "Israeli PR wants to answer your ChatGPT questions". Politico. Retrieved 2026-08-20.
- ↑ Naprys, Ernestas (2026-08-19). "Ghost think tank suspected of fabricating news about Israel and Palestine to manipulate AI". Cybernews. Retrieved 2026-08-25.