Israeli prime minister and accused war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu admits using social media as weapon to influence US opinion amid Gaza genocide

Netanyahu admits using social media as weapon to influence US opinion amid Gaza genocide​

Israeli prime minister claims seeking influence over TikTok, X

Rania Abu Shamala | 27.09.2025 – Update : 27.09.2025

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted Friday that his government views social media platforms as a “weapon” to support Israel’s right-wing in the US amid condemnation for ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza.

In a meeting with US influencers at Israel’s Consulate General in New York and published in a video on influencer Debra Lea’s account on the US social media company X, Netanyahu described social media as “the most important weapon … to secure our base in the US.”

He identified TikTok as “the most important purchase going on right now,” alleging its control could be “consequential.”

Netanyahu also mentioned X, saying: “We have to talk to Elon (Musk). He’s not an enemy, he’s a friend.”

He claimed that if influence could be secured over TikTok and X, Israel would “get a lot.”

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Israeli-aligned billionaires seize TikTok in battle to control Gaza war narrative in US​

Thursday, 25 September 2025 7:57 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 25 September 2025 7:57 PM ]

US President Donald Trump is expected to sign a deal on Thursday to facilitate the forced sale of the China-based TikTok social media platform to a group of US investors, who are considered the main donors to the Israeli military involved in committing crimes across the besieged Gaza Strip.

The new ownership led by Larry Ellison – the largest individual donor to the Israeli military – will take control of US user data and the algorithm, which the White House says will be “retrained.”
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Ellison is also expected to finalize control over Warner Bros. Discovery (including CNN, HBO and the Discovery Channel) before the end of 2025.

Oracle isn’t quite a household name on par with other American technology companies such as Microsoft, Meta or Apple.

But Oracle nevertheless ranks among the most influential corporate forces in America — something underscored by the leading role the company is poised to play in Trump’s deal to decouple TikTok’s US operations from its Chinese parent, ByteDance.
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Oracle is slated to house the data of American TikTok users on its cloud computing servers. The Trump administration has also confirmed that Oracle will be a cornerstone partner and investor in the new TikTok spin-off entity, which will oversee the security and algorithm that undergirds the social video platform.

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Lawrence Joseph Ellison (born August 17, 1944) is an American centibillionaire[2][3] businessman and entrepreneur who co-founded the software company Oracle Corporation. He was Oracle's CEO from 1977 to 2014 and is now its CTO and executive chair. According to Forbes, as of 2026, Ellison's estimated net worth is $245.3 billion, making him the world's third-richest person.[4]
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Ellison was born on August 17, 1944, in New York City. His mother, Florence Spellman is Jewish.[6][7]
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In 2017, Ellison donated $16.6 million (equivalent to $21,300,000 in 2024) to the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF), saying, "Since Israel's founding, we have called on the brave men and women of the IDF to defend our home". This was the largest donation in the organization's history.[76][77]

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Israel paying US influencers to reverse negative public opinion: Report​

Israel is paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for social media posts after its image has taken a battering over the genocide in Gaza

By MEE staff Published date: 3 October 2025 20:30 BST

Israel is paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to American influencers to win a propaganda war after its two-year war on Palestinians in Gaza has diminished its reputation, Responsible Statecraft reported on Wednesday.

Foreign Agents Registration Act (Fara) records filed with the US Department of Justice show that Israel’s government has set aside $900,000 to pay influencers from mid-June until the end of November this year.
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The form also reveals the firm is being paid to recruit 14-18 influencers to post between 25 and 30 pro-Israel posts a month across social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube and Threads.

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