Islamabad, 27 August 2024 (TDI): A report on the Wired website claimed that the Israeli government has been paying Google to conduct a campaign of targeted online adverts aimed at discrediting the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
Israel claimed that twelve UNRWA employees had participated in an October Hamas attack on Israel at this same period. Declaring UNRWA a front organization for Hamas, Israeli officials pushed for international donors, such as the US, to stop supporting the organization.
The goal of the effort was to harm UNRWA’s standing and decrease funding to UNRWA USA, which had experienced a sharp rise in funding as a result of the Gaza crisis.
This ad campaign was unique, according to a Google source, as it was the first time in many years that the Israeli government had targeted political advertisements in Arab nations.
WIRED started contacting Middle East publications and Israel’s foreign ministry in May, at which point the campaign appeared to come to a halt.
Since Google does not have a policy against political advertisements from Israel that are displayed outside of its boundaries, it is unknown if the ads are still running.
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Concerns about Google making money off of what they perceive as Israel’s attempt to place the blame elsewhere and divert attention away from its own involvement in the Gaza situation have been voiced by Google staff members.
“You shouldn’t be taking that money,” an employee said.
The advertisements, according to UNRWA spokesman Juliette Touma, have seriously damaged the organization’s reputation.
She said, “People are harmed by these advertisements. They ought to cease, and those in charge of this sabotage ought to answer for their actions. After the conflict is finished, there ought to be a great deal of follow-up with businesses like Google. Numerous things require a solution.”
