# Esther Project

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This article is about the Israeli influencer campaign. For the U.S. [Heritage Foundation](/source/Heritage_Foundation) initiative, see [Project Esther](/source/Project_Esther).

The **Esther Project**[a] is an Israeli [social media](/source/Social_media) [propaganda](/source/Propaganda) campaign aimed at swaying American public opinion in the face of the ongoing [Gaza war](/source/Gaza_war) and [genocide](/source/Gaza_genocide).[1] According to the contract, signed on behalf of the Israeli government's [Foreign Ministry](/source/Ministry_of_Foreign_Affairs_(Israel)) and [Advertising Agency (LAPAM)](/source/Israel_Government_Advertising_Agency), a cohort of 14-18 social media [influencers](/source/Influencer) were to post content in favor of Israel 25–30 times per month from July 2025 through November 2025 on [Instagram](/source/Instagram), [YouTube](/source/YouTube), [TikTok](/source/TikTok), and [Twitter/X](/source/Twitter).[2][1]

News outlets reported that Israel is paying US influencers to post content to improve its public image on [Instagram](/source/Instagram), [TikTok](/source/TikTok), and other social media platforms.[3][4][5][6][7] Records filed with the [US Department of Justice](/source/United_States_Department_of_Justice), as required by the [Foreign Agents Registration Act](/source/Foreign_Agents_Registration_Act) (FARA), show that the Israeli government is funding a clandestine [political messaging](/source/Propaganda) propaganda campaign in the US, including [influencer campaigning](/source/Influencer_marketing) and more traditional big-budget [political campaigning](/source/Campaign_advertising), to "assist with promoting cultural interchange between the United States and Israel."[3][4][5][6] The propaganda campaign includes up to US$900,000 in payments, and influencers are reportedly paid approximately $7,000 per post.[3][4][1]

## History

According to [US Department of Justice](/source/US_Department_of_Justice) (DOJ) filings, Israeli consultants Uri Steinberg and Yair Levi established Bridges Partners LLC, the firm responsible for Israel's influencer network, June 2025 in [Delaware](/source/Delaware).[3][4] The firm then received about $200,000 to recruit social media influencers based in the US.[4] The arrangement went through the German division of the global [public relations](/source/Public_relations) firm [Havas](/source/Havas).[3][4] The propaganda campaign was initiated to improve Israel's public image, which had been damaged by the ongoing [Gaza war](/source/Gaza_war) and [genocide](/source/Gaza_genocide).[6][8]

According to *[The Jerusalem Post](/source/The_Jerusalem_Post)*, the documents also include payments to contractors, indicating that—beyond paying influencers individually for posts—the project aims to develop a "support ecosystem" that includes legal compliance, propaganda campaign analytics, and content production.[4] According to the *[Jewish Telegraphic Agency](/source/Jewish_Telegraphic_Agency)*, it is unclear if the propaganda campaign is linked to [Project Esther](/source/Project_Esther), a plan to combat alleged antisemitism by [the Heritage Foundation](/source/The_Heritage_Foundation).[3]

Although the identities of the social media influencers contracted in Esther Project are not clear, several influencers have taken sponsored [public relations](/source/Public_relations) trips to Israel in the preceding period, with trips organized by entities such as Israel's [Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism](/source/Ministry_of_Diaspora_Affairs_and_Combating_Antisemitism)[5] and Israel365 Action.[b][1][9] According to the *[Columbia Journalism Review](/source/Columbia_Journalism_Review)*, invitations for these trips have been extended to [content creators](/source/Content_creation) with influence in the US, such as Eitan Fischberger, [Noa Cochva](/source/Noa_Cochva), [Xaviaer DuRousseau](/source/Xaviaer_DuRousseau), and Jeremy Awakens.[5]

In a September 2025 meeting with pro-Israel influencers in New York, Israeli Prime Minister [Benjamin Netanyahu](/source/Benjamin_Netanyahu) said, "We have to fight with the weapons that apply to the battlefields in which we engage, and the most important ones are on social media."[4][8] The *Jewish Telegraphic Agency* named [Lizzy Savetsky](/source/Lizzy_Savetsky), Ari Acker, [Zach Sage Fox](/source/Zach_Sage_Fox), [Miriam Ezagui](/source/Miriam_Ezagui), and Joyce Chabb as being among the influencers photographed at the meeting.[3] Savetsky has denied receiving payment from Israel.[10]

The propaganda campaign comes amid what Israeli officials are describing as an 'eighth front'—a push for influence in what Alex Traiman of the *[Jewish News Syndicate](/source/Jewish_News_Syndicate)* has called the "information battlefield", including in mainstream media, at universities, and on social media[11]—which includes a US$1.5 million per month contract with AI-driven political campaign firm Clock Tower X LLC and [Brad Parscale](/source/Brad_Parscale), former campaign manager of Donald Trump.[12][3][4][2] This project is registered under [FARA](/source/Foreign_Agents_Registration_Act) as a "campaign in the United States to combat antisemitism."[12]

## Payments

*[Haaretz](/source/Haaretz)* reported that, according to records connected to the FARA filings, Bridges Partners has already paid US$15,000 to Nadav Shtrauchler, a communications consultant who had worked with Netanyahu and the [Hostages and Missing Families Forum](/source/Hostages_and_Missing_Families_Forum), and $10,000 to Pnina Rezidor, a digital marketing strategist from Israel.[2]

## See also

- [Hasbara](/source/Hasbara)

## Notes

1. It is unclear if it is related to [Project Esther](/source/Project_Esther) of the [Heritage Foundation](/source/Heritage_Foundation).

1. This trip was partially funded through a $86,000 contract with the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

## References

1. Cleveland-Stout, Nick (Oct 3, 2025). ["Who are the 'influencers' Israel is paying $7k per post?"](https://responsiblestatecraft.org/israel-influencers/). *[Responsible Statecraft](/source/Responsible_Statecraft)*. Retrieved 2025-11-03.

1. Benjakob, Omer (9 November 2025). ["Losing the Republican Base, Israel Pours Millions to Target Evangelicals and Churchgoers"](https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/security-aviation/2025-11-09/ty-article-magazine/.premium/losing-the-republican-base-israel-pours-millions-to-target-evangelicals-and-churchgoers/0000019a-540e-db4c-a5fb-dfafea590000)

1. Elia-Shalev, Asaf (2025-10-01). ["Inside Israel's 'Esther Project': DOJ filings reveal paid US influencer campaign amid AI-powered PR blitz"](https://www.jta.org/2025/09/30/israel/israels-secret-esther-project-doj-filings-reveal-paid-us-influencer-campaign-amid-ai-powered-pr-blitz). *Jewish Telegraphic Agency*. Retrieved 2025-10-30.

1. ["Israel's secret influencer campaign exposed"](https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-869219). *[The Jerusalem Post](/source/The_Jerusalem_Post)*. 2025-10-01. Retrieved 2025-10-30.

1. Barshad, Amos (October 6, 2025). ["As the world awaits peace in Gaza, the Israeli government has been inviting content creators to come in and spread its message."](https://www.cjr.org/feature/israel-influencer-embed-gaza-reporting-livestreaming-access-content-creators-eitan-fischberger.php). *[Columbia Journalism Review](/source/Columbia_Journalism_Review)*. Retrieved 2025-10-30.

1. ["Israel paying US influencers to reverse negative public opinion: Report"](https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-paying-us-influencers-reverse-negative-public-opinion-report). *[Middle East Eye](/source/Middle_East_Eye)*. Retrieved 2025-10-30.

1. Elia-Shalev, Asaf (2025-10-01). ["Inside Israel's 'Esther Project': DOJ filings reveal paid US influencer campaign"](https://www.timesofisrael.com/israels-secret-esther-project-doj-filings-reveal-paid-us-influencer-campaign/). *The Times of Israel*. [ISSN 0040-7909](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0040-7909). Retrieved 2025-11-03.

1. Osman, Nadda (13 October 2025). ["Narrative warfare: Inside Israel's battle for influence on social media"](https://www.newarab.com/analysis/how-social-media-became-new-frontline-israels-digital-war). *[The New Arab](/source/The_New_Arab)*

1. Jacobs, Emily (2025-08-25). ["A trip to Israel becomes a wake-up call for MAGA influencers"](https://jewishinsider.com/2025/08/israel365-maga-republican-jewish-delegation/). *Jewish Insider*. Retrieved 2025-11-03.

1. Taylor, Ezra (2025-10-30). ["Influencer Savetsky fires back at Israeli payment claims"](https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/culture/article-872208). *[The Jerusalem Post](/source/The_Jerusalem_Post)*. Retrieved 2025-11-03.

1. Isaac, David (2025-10-01). ["JNS event spotlights 'eighth front' of war: The information battlefield"](https://www.jns.org/jns-event-spotlights-eighth-front-the-information-battlefield/). *JNS.org*. Retrieved 2025-11-03.

1. Cleveland-Stout, Nick (September 29, 2025). ["Israel wants to train ChatGPT to be more pro-Israel"](https://responsiblestatecraft.org/israel-chatgpt/). *[Responsible Statecraft](/source/Responsible_Statecraft)*. Retrieved 2025-10-30.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Esther Project](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esther_Project) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esther_Project?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.