Israel paid Google for campaign to discredit UNRWA: report

Campaign aimed at damaging UNRWA’s reputation and reduce donations apparently ended after WIRED inquired about it.

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The Israeli government had been paying Google to run a campaign to discredit the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) through targeted online advertisements, according to a rreport published by the Wired website.

Around this time, Israel accused twelve UNRWA staff members of involvement in a Hamas attack on Israel in October. Israeli officials labeled UNRWA as a front for Hamas and urged international donors, including the US, to halt funding.

The campaign aimed to damage UNRWA’s reputation and reduce donations to UNRWA USA, which saw a significant increase in contributions due to the Gaza conflict.

One source within Google noted that this ad campaign was unusual as it was the first known instance in many years of the Israeli government targeting political ads in Arab countries.

The campaign seemed to end around May, after WIRED began inquiring with Israel’s foreign ministry and Middle East publishers.

It is unclear if the ads are still running, as Google does not have a specific policy regarding Israel's political ads outside its borders.

Google employees have expressed concern about the company profiting from what they view as Israel’s attempt to shift blame onto UNRWA and distract from its own role in the Gaza crisis.

An employee stated, “You shouldn’t be taking that money.”

UNRWA spokesperson Juliette Touma criticized the ads, stating that they have severely harmed the agency’s reputation. “These ads are destructive to people,” she said. “They should stop, and those responsible for this sabotage should be held accountable. There should be a lot of follow-up with companies like Google once the war is over. There’s a lot to answer to.”