It’s been called publicity war, social media propaganda and a network of advocacy. It depends who is talking which term is used to describe the social media units the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office set up. The mission is to create a network of advocacy for Israel against what many within the Israeli government have termed as social media attacks in a “prolonged and extreme campaign of de-legitimization” of Israel.

The social media units are made up of Israeli university students. In turn for their efforts posting pro-Israel on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, the students will receive scholarships. The posts will reflect positive aspects of the Israeli government and being a democratic country.

While to the outside world these posts will appear unguided and spontaneous, the truth is quite the opposite. This social media project places the government behind the curtain as the puppeteer directing what appear to be independently thinking, acting students speaking out.









The Target Audience

The target audience of the social propaganda campaign is the citizens of foreign countries. In a true militaristic organized fashion, the structure of the student units included a Senior Coordinator who has three direct reports called coordinators. These three students are each assigned to a specific area. These include either language, graphics or research. Each coordinator is responsible for recruiting from the student population to assist in the social media execution of propaganda.

While the social media advocacy units work under the title of Student Unions, they receive direction from the Prime Minister’s Office. The units’ purpose is solely to promote and spread information that places Israel in strictly a positive light. This mission is carried out through all social media venues that focus on international groups and communities.

The brainchild for this Internet advocacy presence was born out of the successful awareness campaign the Israelis waged during the Pillar of Defense Operation (November 14, 2012). That 8-day Israel Defense Forces (IDF) operation in the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip organized students who worked from campuses via the Internet to heighten world awareness of the issues Israel faced.