Google Signed $45 Million Propaganda Deal with Netanyahu to Deny Gaza Famine

By Staff, Agencies

Google has entered into a $45 million agreement with “Israeli” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office to amplify pro-government messaging about the war on Gaza while downplaying reports of famine in the besieged enclave, Drop Site News reported on Wednesday.

The six-month contract, signed in late June, identifies Google as a “key entity” in Netanyahu’s public relations strategy. The campaign began shortly after “Israel” blocked food, medicine, fuel and other humanitarian supplies from entering Gaza on March 2, raising fears of international backlash over the unfolding humanitarian crisis.

According to the report, "Israeli" officials framed the effort as a digital campaign “to explain that there is no hunger and present the data”.

Since then, “Israeli”-sponsored ads—many run through YouTube and Google’s Display & Video 360 platform—have circulated widely.

One such video, produced by "Israel’s" foreign ministry and promoted heavily online, declares: “There is food in Gaza. Any other claim is a lie”. The ad has amassed over six million views, largely due to paid promotion.

Documents describe these efforts under the banner of hasbara—a Hebrew term commonly translated as “propaganda”. Beyond Google, "Israel" also spent $3 million on ads through X [formerly Twitter] and $2.1 million with the French-"Israeli" platform Outbrain/Teads, records show.

Similar information campaigns targeting the United Nations and Gaza authorities were reported by WIRED last year, including ads accusing the UN of “deliberate sabotage” of aid and promoting the controversial US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

The revelations come as conditions in Gaza continue to worsen. The enclave’s health ministry said that 185 Palestinians, including 12 children, died of starvation in August alone—the highest monthly toll since the war began in October 2023.

Seventy of those deaths occurred after the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification system formally declared Gaza to be in famine.

Health officials warn that more than 43,000 children under five now suffer from malnutrition, along with 55,000 pregnant and nursing women.

Meanwhile, “Israel’s” ongoing assault on Gaza has martyred at least 63,746 Palestinians and injured more than 161,245 others, according to the health ministry.