Updated: PR firms drop Israeli image campaign

Updated: PR firms drop Israeli image campaign

theforeigner.no

Israel wants to hire PR firms in 10 countries to improve its reputation, according to Israeli paper Yedioth Ahronoth. Norwegian PR firms have refused.

(visit the link for the full news article)

The assignment is to help the country promote its vision in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as prevent an international boycott of Israeli goods, amongst other things. Each PR agency would receive approximately 20 million kroner annually.

Israel has contacted specialists in Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Norway. Five of Norway’s largest PR firms have said ‘no’, reports Dagens Naæringsliv (DN).

The PR campaign has worked incredibly effectively and Israel is untouchable in US politics but few countries like Norway who do believe in free speech and don't support propaganda have refused.

Now Israel hiring PR firms to spread propaganda is not actually a new thing. It has been going on from last many years. They have created many manuals on how to spread propaganda, such as:

Manual 1: Hasbara Handbook: Promoting Israel on Campus (PDF doc)

Manual 2: "Wexner Analysis: Israeli Communication Priorities 2003,"

Manual 3: The Israel Project's 2009 Global Language Dictionary

Or how these propaganda techniques are used on masses
EXPOSED: Leaked Document Exposes Israel Manipulation Of US Public In Aftermath Of Iraq War (ATS thread)

What is Hasbara?

Hasbara refers to the propaganda efforts to sell Israel, justify its actions, and defend it in world opinion. Using contemporary euphemisms, it is Public diplomacy for Israel, or
using a pejorative interpretation, then it is apologia.

I view it as a cynical attempt to flood the web and news media with favorable flackery in a vain attempt to tilt public opinion toward Israel. So what are the techniques used?

The techniques utilized

1. Smearing/defaming critics of Israel, aka, attacking the messenger. This is even the terminology found in the Hasbara Handbook
2. Selective discussion of issues
3. Framing of issues, and setting the terminology used in discussing Israel
4. Harassing media about its coverage, aka, flak
5. Challenging the portrayal of an alternative narrative, and attempting to keep the zionist narrative as the dominant one.

SourceWatch

This has been covered in few media outlets as well;

The Foreign Ministry unveiled a new plan this week: Paying talkbackers to post pro-Israel responses on websites worldwide. A total of NIS 600,000 (roughly $150,000) will be earmarked to the establishment of an “Internet warfare” squad.

Thought-police is here

The Foreign Ministry has ordered trainee diplomats to track websites and chatrooms so that networks of US and European groups with hundreds of thousands of Jewish activists can place supportive messages.

In the past week nearly 5,000 members of the World Union of Jewish Students (WUJS) have downloaded special “megaphone” software that alerts them to anti-Israeli chatrooms or internet polls to enable them to post contrary viewpoints

Israel backed by army of cyber-soldiers

Israel's smiling PR drive - ATS thread with Guardian article link

These propaganda spreading techniques are not only done through PR firms but also on social websites/ forums.
Megaphone: Undeniable Proof of Israeli Propaganda on Forums like ATS (ATS thread)

Another example is just a week or two ago a very popular social website called Reddit became a target of from JIDF (Jewish Internet Defense Force)

A link on JIDF website urging supporters to downvote all comments critical of Israel and get them removed

We urge you to downvote the antisemitic, idiotic, and anti-Israel comments! Make all their worst antisemitic conspiracy theory nightmares come true!

Source (Warning: JIDF propaganda website): Most Popular Link on Reddit! **UPDATE** x2

While going through the link I suggest you should also read the comments made by Redditors urging JIDF to interact with people sensible instead of cheating and using propaganda techniques and read the replies from JIDF to them.

Twitter updates from JIDF to organise supporters:

and


Reddit's response on Twitter


Related threads on Reddit exposing JIDF's manipulation:
1. DAE find that when they post anything the slightest bit critical of Israel, their post, and anything else they've posted since the dawn of time gets ruthlessly downvoted? Here's why. And by the way: F@@@ Israel.

2. This is a disgusting assault on free speech on Reddit. A post criticizing Israel's internet downvote brigade just got removed from Reddit's front page!

3. Reddit hasn't been Pro-Isreal enough lately, so the Jewish Defense League will be stepping in to fill that gap.

Now, few more examples how they organise on Reddit and attack people from a hidden sub forum on Reddit:


Asking supporters to downvote these users who are not "pro-Israel" from the hidden sub forum


So let's have a constructive discussion about Israel's positive media bias campaigns.

theforeigner.no
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by Prince Of Darkness


Israel is looking pretty desperate. Their supporters are victims of their PR campaigns , or bribes.

I thought the last part where it shows the list of people to down vote was hilarious. Imagine the fun people would have on here with a down vote button

wouldnt be a lot easier to just stop terrorizing and murdering innocent people? oh i forgot that Yahweh is an evil god who demands the sacrifice or subjugation of anybody who isnt jewish...a reasonable religion to adhere to

When your agenda is built around a lie, propaganda is your only tool.

Originally posted by HenryPatrick
wouldnt be a lot easier to just stop terrorizing and murdering innocent people?

I agree with you here.

oh i forgot that Yahweh is an evil god who demands the sacrifice or subjugation of anybody who isnt jewish...a reasonable religion to adhere to

You are being unreasonable here, it is not the fault of religion but the ideology. No religion tells you too support propaganda, deceit or intimidation.

I wonder if JIDF will comment on this thread?
Does anyone know if they have members on ats?

Originally posted by Corruption Exposed
reply to post by Prince Of Darkness

 

Imagine the people would have on here with a down vote button

edit on 5-2-2011 by Corruption Exposed because: grammar

You don't really need a down vote button on a forum if you have multiple high level people on posts to silence critics of Israel.

Originally posted by roasted aliv3
I wonder if JIDF will comment on this thread?
Does anyone know if they have members on ats?

Back during the Palestine/Israel flotilla incident, there were many here in full force.

Originally posted by roasted aliv3
I wonder if JIDF will comment on this thread?
Does anyone know if they have members on ats?

Is the Pope a Catholic ?

Originally posted by roasted aliv3
I wonder if JIDF will comment on this thread?

You probably didn't read the last comment in the OP.

So let's have a constructive discussion about Israel's positive media bias campaigns.

Key point: Constructive discussion

JIDF and most of the Israeli supporters are not really used to such things. I doubt they can properly formulate a sentence without using the word "anti-semite" in it.

Edited to add:
This thread has not gained much attention either from ATS so far. Usually only the most popular topics gets attacked or derailed. So if the threads doesn't gets too many flags & stars it is kinda safe.

I want to correct a link mentioned in my post in the OP. By mistake I used a wrong link to the ATS thread, the correct link is this one:

Megaphone: Undeniable Proof of Israeli Propaganda on Forums like ATS

If a moderator could correct that, it would be great.

I would like to point out that a similar internet brigade was found on another famous website called Digg before it's downfall in 2010.



Ever since Reddit came to popularity the Digg - Israeli internet brigade also seems to have shifted bases to Reddit.

This is craziness. I knew there was some attempt to manipulate the net this way, but I didn't realize it was so well-organized.

I wonder what other groups, if any, are doing the same thing. Other political or ideological groups, perhaps even corporate/commerical efforts to bend public will? Disconcerting. I'd like to belive the balanced truth in any situation ultimately shines through but history and human IQ suggest otherwise.

Originally posted by silent thunder
I wonder what other groups, if any, are doing the same thing.

A Conservative group was found on Digg trying to apply the same tactics see related ATS thread

A group of influential conservative members of the behemoth social media site Digg.com have just been caught red-handed in a widespread campaign of censorship, having multiple accounts, upvote padding, and deliberately trying to ban progressives. An undercover investigation has exposed this effort, which has been in action for more than one year.

Massive Censorship Of Digg Uncovered

By mistake I included this link in the OP while searching for Digg manipulation by Israeli supporters which I corrected in my previous post glad it came to use now.

reply to post by PayMeh


My most intense interweb debate since the heady excitement of epic beard man on another board, they aren't that tough, not supermen, just good team workers with a discernible power structure, I reckon it's where the IDF put their fat xbox generation conscripts with a few officers as line managers, as was proven in the attack on the Freedom Flotilla "incident" they can't spin coal into gold or change morality or ethics.

reply to post by Prince Of Darkness


Hmm. It's easy to sell any useless product with enough advertising..

Just ask Coke or Nike...

Polishing a turd is one major feat!
However, telling the masses it's nutritious and making them eat it is another matter entirely.
I think many people have lost their appetites for Israel over the last few years!

IRM

Originally posted by backinblack
reply to post by Prince Of Darkness

 

Hmm. It's easy to sell any useless product with enough advertising..

Just ask Coke or Nike...

Ain't that the truth just look at mtv's celebrity manufacturing process...

Jersey shore for instance...

It's not like they are doing anything illegal; so whats the problem?

reply to post by bluemirage5


JIDF has finally arrived.

What they are doing is not illegal, but it is certainly pathetic. The Israelis know that they have been exposed as the evil scoundrels that they are so they have been trying to do damage control for quite some time now. This is another failure at trying to manipulate public opinion on Israel's behalf. Each time they do this all it does is wake a few more people up. I am glad the OP brought this fine example to our attention.