Israel Enlists Conservative Media Firm To Target Americans In New Influence Campaign
The Israeli government has enlisted an American media firm in a six-figure campaign aimed at influencing U.S. public opinion, federal records reveal.
Jillian Butler·Nov 12, 2026·4 min read
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The Israeli government has enlisted an American media firm in a six-figure campaign aimed at influencing U.S. public opinion, federal records reveal.
Starboard LLC, a conservative media and marketing firm that advertises access to data on more than 25 million “verified conservatives,” signed a 120-day agreement with LDRSGroup, an influencer marketing firm acting on behalf of the Israeli government, accordingto Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) filings. The $500,000 agreement, signed Oct. 13 and filed with the Justice Department on Oct. 28, outlines a campaign involving targeted messaging, public opinion polling and analysis designed to measure the effectiveness and variables of changing right-leaning Americans’ views on Israel.
This comesat a time when public perception of Israel in America is at an all-time low. American voters have grown disenchanted with Israel over its role in the highly unpopular Iran War, grip on American politics and alleged human rights violations in Gaza.
Starboard is not the first company to push digital campaigns on behalf of Tel Aviv. Former Trump aide, Brad Parscale, signed a $6 million agreement to disseminate pro-Israel messaging over websites, social media posts, and blogs via his company ClockTower X, the Daily Caller News Foundation previously reported
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Starboard, formerly known as Olympic Media, purchased conservative social media application Parler in April 2023, per the Associated Press. Parler was eventually purchased from Starboard and relaunched in 2024 in anticipation for the 2024 election, according to NBC.
The FARA filing was originally discovered by Sludge.
Starboard LLC, LDRS Group and the Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry did not reply to requests for comment.
The contract was signed less than a month before the 2026 midterm elections, at a time when many Republicans —who are traditionally one of the largest pro-Israel voting bases, have grown wary of America’s relationship with the country. The GOP lost considerable footing in the midterms, with Democrats winning winning the House and Senate, and historically red states turning blue.
The U.S.-Israel relationship and the Iran War were some of the driving factors in this loss.
The contract includes a “persuasion pilot program that measures contact impact and sentiment analysis through regular polling,” followed by “continuous content deployment, optimization and measurement (surveying, polling).” Starboard would then produce a final report that assesses the cost of changing a user’s opinion, referred to in the contract as “cost-per-converted-voice,” according to the FARA filings.
The campaign intends to target “general population through digital media,” the documents state. In the past, Starboard has worked with conservative politicians including Rep. Jim Jordan, Rep. Elise Stefanik, along with failed gubernatorial and presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
“We help clients control the narrative, build credibility, and get their message across to the right audience,” Starboard’s website says.
Recognizing that it is rapidly losing international support, Israel is ramping up the fight to save its public image.
Israeli Prime Benjamin Netanyahu referred to increased anti-Israel sentiment in America as the “eighth front” in wars that Israel is fighting.
“That’s the front for the hearts and minds of people, especially young people in the West, and for me, especially in the United States. And for me, especially on the conservative wing of the United States,” Netanyahu stated in a late December 2025 Evangelical Christian leader conference in Palm Beach, Florida, according to the Times of Israel.
The massive shift in public opinion against Israel has created headaches for organizations like AIPAC, which announced plans to stop directly bankrolling political candidates in October.
AIPAC fell under heavy criticism after it and other Pro-Israel groups spent over $9 million to unseat Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie. Massie is a vocal opponent of the Iran War who introduced legislation that would force AIPAC to file under FARA.
Israel has committed multiple crimes against humanity in Gaza including extermination, persecution, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, according to findings from a United Nations-mandated independent commission.
Israel’s public relations budget sits at $730 million as of April 26th, per Jerusalem Post.
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