The Israeli government has reportedly launched a roughly $50 million campaign to improve its standing in the United States as American support declines following the wars in Gaza and Iran, according to a Wall Street Journal investigation. The effort, led in part by former Trump campaign adviser Brad Parscale, forms part of a broader Israeli public-diplomacy push reportedly budgeted at approximately $730 million.

The campaign uses conservative media advertising, influencer outreach, social-media content and AI-assisted text conversations. It also includes the creation of pro-Israel websites designed to appear in search results and influence how artificial-intelligence chatbots answer questions about Israel.

Millions of Americans reportedly received messages from supposed representatives named Emma, Sarah or John, who identified themselves as members of a group called “Friends for Peace.” Beth Surdut, one recipient, said the exchange appeared artificial. “I said to him, ‘I don’t think you’re a real person’ — and he tried to persuade me to think that he was.” Asked whether Friends for Peace was a real organization, Parscale responded: “What do you define as a real organization?”

The effort has focused heavily on younger conservatives, evangelical Christians and MAGA-aligned audiences. Parscale also serves as chief strategy officer at Salem Media, a major conservative Christian media company, although Salem and Parscale have denied that hosts were paid to deliver Israeli government talking points.

The report said the campaign comes as polling shows a sharp deterioration in Israel’s image among Americans, particularly younger voters. A recent Pew survey found 60% of Americans viewed Israel unfavorably, while only 37% held a favorable opinion. Parscale’s team says major AI platforms have begun drawing from its websites, but it has not publicly released evidence demonstrating the campaign’s effectiveness.