Israel bankrolling influencers to boost image in US – media

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has emphasized the role of social media creators in maintaining the country’s support base in America

Invoices sent to Havas Media Group Germany, which is managing the campaign, show $900,000 in funding from June through November 2025 for a group of 14 to 18 influencers. The filings estimate 75 to 90 posts in that period – equivalent to between $6,143 and $7,372 per post, according to Responsible Statecraft. The documents do not disclose which influencers are involved.

Bridge Partners, co-owned by Yair Levi and Uri Steinberg, has enlisted a former IDF spokesperson and a former representative of the Israeli spyware firm NSO Group.

Last week, Netanyahu told a press conference it was crucial to secure Israel’s “support base in the US” by using influencers, particularly on TikTok and X.

Israel’s image campaign comes amid declining support in the US, particularly over the Gaza war. A recent New York Times survey suggested that six in ten Americans believe Israel should end the war, with more than half opposing additional economic and military support to West Jerusalem.

Lawmakers including Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene have described the situation in Gaza as “genocide” and opposed additional aid to Israel.

US President Donald Trump, who continues to support the Jewish state, has recently acknowledged that the Israeli lobby – once wielding “total control” over Congress – has seen its influence dwindle.

Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking some 250 hostage. Israel responded by launching a military campaign in Gaza, which has so far killed over 68,000 Palestinians according to local health authorities.

https://www.rt.com/news/625705-israel-us-influence-campaign/

Ex-USAID chief brags about funding ‘democratic brightspot’ in Moldova

American money helped President Maia Sandu to “narrowly squeak by” at the ballot box, Samantha Power has said in a prank call

American taxpayer money played a crucial role in keeping Moldovan President Maia Sandu in power, former USAID chief Samantha Power has claimed in a prank call with Russian comedians Vovan and Lexus.

Power, who led the US Agency for International Development under President Joe Biden, was recorded speaking to the pranksters as they posed as former Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko. In the video, released Wednesday, she reflected on her time overseeing an agency with 15,000 staff and a multibillion-dollar budget, and cited expanded aid to Moldova as one of her successes.

“This was not a country that USAID had really had much of a presence in, very small,” Power said. “We expanded it massively, both for the sake of Ukraine, but of course also for Moldova. And it was a democratic brightspot with President Sandu, a Kennedy School graduate and a real reformer.”

According to Power, Sandu “narrowly squeaked by the last time,” though she did not specify whether she was referring to last year’s presidential election or the recent parliamentary vote in Moldova. Sandu and her party secured both contests with strong support from Moldovan expatriates in Western nations, while failing to secure a majority in the popular vote at home. Opposition figures argue the process was skewed to limit turnout in anti-government areas.

Sandu, a Romanian citizen, has faced criticism for what opponents describe as authoritarian tactics, including shutting down opposition media and branding rivals as Moscow-backed criminals. She has maintained that Moldova’s path to the European Union depends on her leadership.

Power said the Biden administration folded tens of millions of dollars for Moldova into broader Ukraine aid appropriation requests. “That money went much, much further in Moldova than it did in Ukraine because it’s such a small country,” she noted.

She also suggested people tend to associate Washington’s support with “arms, and maybe with Tori Nuland and interference,” but they overlook “forms of more subtle support.” Former US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland is widely described as a key architect of the 2014 coup in Kiev and the subsequent escalation of tensions with Russia.

Moscow reiterated criticisms of Sandu after her latest victory, which Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov branded a blatant example of “electoral fraud.”

https://www.rt.com/news/625699-usaid-chief-moldova-funding/

>>23681764

Israel Paying US Social Media Influencers $7,000 Per Post As Right-Wing Support Craters

Following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's meeting in New York on Friday with a group of pro-Israel influencers, we learn that Israel is likely paying them a whopping $7,000 per pro-Israel social-media post in a desperate drive to bolster plummeting support of Israel among America's young conservatives.

That's the conclusion of Responsible Statecraft's Nick Cleveland-Stout, based on analysis of a disclosure filed with the US Department of Justice as required by the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). While pro-Israel lobbying heavyweight AIPAC is notoriously exempt from FARA registration, the social media operation comes under the transparency law's provisions because Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs is paying for it.

The influence campaign is being facilitated by Bridge Partners, a DC-based firm owned by founders Yair Levi and Uri Steinberg. "[Bridge Partners] has also enlisted the help of a former major in the IDF spokesperson unit, Nadav Shtrauchler," writes Cleveland-Stout. "For legal counsel, Levi and Steinberg have turned to Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, a firm that previously worked for controversial Israeli spyware company NSO Group."

The current phase of the campaign runs from June to November, with a $900,000 budget for a stable of 14 to 17 influencers turning out pro-Israel content. Taking into account disclosed administrative costs and the campaign's expectation that the group will produce 75-90 posts, Responsible Statecraft estimates each post will earn the influencers somewhere between $6,143 and $7,373. The individual influencers are not identified in the filings. However, given they are being paid by a foreign government to engage in political activity, the influencers seemingly have a duty to register as individual agents of the State of Israel.

Netanyahu candid public statements to influencers last week raised eyebrows, as they laid bare Israel's drive to control social media discourse in the United States in a bid to shore up American support. "We're going to have to use the tools of battle," said Netanyahu. "Weapons change over time…the most important ones are in social media. And the most important purchase that is going on right now is…TikTok."

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/israel-paying-us-social-media-influencers-7000-post-right-wing-support-craters

Wikipedia:Reliable sources/Perennial sources/3

BLACKLISTED:

Breitbart

Daily Caller

Epoch Times

Fox News

New York Post

The Federalist

The Gateway Pundit

Green Lit:

New York Times

Washington Post

CNN

MSNBC

The Nation

Mother Jones

GLAAD

TV Guide

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reliable_sources/Perennial_sources/3

DEA Arrests 670, Seizes Nearly 77,000 Kilograms Of Drugs In Operation Targeting Notorious Cartel

Today, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced the results of a week-long operational surge aimed at dismantling the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), one of the most violent and prolific drug trafficking organizations in the world.

Designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in February by the Trump Administration, CJNG is a significant threat to public safety, public health, and national security. CJNG is responsible for flooding the United States with deadly fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin to fuel addiction, overdoses, and violence in communities across the United States.

“DEA is targeting the Jalisco New Generation Cartel as what it is—a terrorist organization—at every level, from its leadership to its distribution networks and everyone in between,” said DEA Administrator Terrance Cole. “Let this serve as a warning: DEA will not relent. Working side by side with our state, local, tribal, and federal partners, and through the Homeland Security Task Force, DEA is committed to these partnerships to take the fight directly to designated terrorist organizations. Every arrest, every seizure, and every dollar stripped from CJNG represents lives saved and communities protected. This focused operation is only the beginning—we will carry this fight forward together until this threat is defeated.”

From September 22 through September 26, 2025, DEA agents across 23 domestic field divisions and seven foreign regions carried out coordinated enforcement actions that resulted in:

Arrests: 670

Drug Seizures:

92.4 kilograms of fentanyl powder,

1,157,672 counterfeit pills,

6,062 kilograms of methamphetamine,

22,842 kilograms of cocaine, and

33 kilograms of heroin

Currency Seizures: $18,644,105

Assets Seized: $29,694,429

Firearms: 244

CJNG operates globally, with tens of thousands of members, associates, and facilitators in at least 40 countries. The cartel is responsible for the production, manufacturing, and distribution of synthetic drugs, as well as the violence and corruption that accompany their operations.

DEA is committed to taking down CJNG’s command, control, and distribution networks and the continued pursuit of CJNG co-founder and leader Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, also known as El Mencho. He remains one of DEA’s most wanted fugitives and the subject of a reward of up to $15 Million under the U.S. Department of State Narcotics Rewards Program.

DEA’s efforts are part of a larger whole-of-government approach to dismantling transnational criminal organizations and protecting U.S. communities. By working closely with the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) and other federal partners, DEA is ensuring that current and future operations align with broader U.S. efforts to combat designated terrorist organizations and transnational organized crime.

https://www.dea.gov/press-releases/2025/09/29/dea-targets-cjng-operations-seizing-million-counterfeit-pills-and-77000

Munich Oktoberfest Closed After Deadly Explosion, Boobytrapped Property, Fire

The Munich Oktoberfest will reopen Wednesday evening after blasts, explosive booby-traps, and a major fire in the city linked to a written bomb threat against the festival triggered a police lockdown.

One man, believed by police to be the perpetrator, was found dead after an explosion and fire in Munich, Germany, on Wednesday. A handwritten note making allusions to the world-famous Oktoberfest cultural festival and explosives found near the scene saw its venue closed for hours while police swept for bombs.

Police later said they were satisfied that the evening’s festivities could take place after they completed their sweeps.

Officers were initially summoned in the early hours of Wednesday morning when local residents in a Munich suburb were woken by the sound of a blast and gunshots, which were followed by a blaze at a residential address.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2025/10/01/munich-oktoberfest-closed-after-deadly-explosion-boobytrapped-property-fire/

UK Govt Slashes Farage’s Security Funding Amid Rise in Political Violence.

Nigel Farage’s Reform Party has reported that his taxpayer-funded security detail has been reduced by 75 percent in recent weeks, despite the recent assassination of conservative yoth organizer Charlie Kirk in the United States and a rising threat of political violence. Zia Yusuf, Reform’s head of policy, described the move as “inexplicable” and noted that it came just days after Farage accused Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer of “inciting violence” by calling one of Reform’s immigration policies “racist.”

Yusuf said private donors have since stepped in to cover the costs of Farage’s protection. “I want to be clear to Reform supporters: Thankfully, we have had generous donors step in to shore up that security, so I can assure you Nigel is safe and he is well protected, but that places into context this hideous campaign of incitement to violence against the man who is bookmaker’s favourite to be the next Prime Minister,” he said.He accused the governing Labour Party‘s leadership of leading a coordinated attack on Farage, citing comments from 11 Cabinet ministers. “The Home Secretary called him ‘worse than racist.’ The Deputy Prime Minister accused him of ‘flirting with Nazism.’ If anything happens to Nigel, I will hold the Prime Minister responsible,” Yusuf said.

He also referenced threats made against Farage online, including on TikTok and X, and recalled personally witnessing attempts to attack him during campaign events. Leftists have on several occasions thrown milkshakes and even cement at the populist leader, while illegal immigrants have issued recorded death threats against him.

The Labour-controlled House of Commons declined to comment on specific security arrangements, claiming decisions are made based on professional risk assessments and are kept confidential to avoid compromising safety.

The security row comes at a time when Farage and Reform are experiencing a significant surge in public support. According to a recent Ipsos poll conducted between 11 and 17 September 2025, Reform leads national voting intention with 34 percent, ahead of Labour at 22 percent and the formerly governing Conservatives at just 14 percent, the lowest share ever recorded for the party by Ipsos.

The same poll reveals deep public dissatisfaction with the current Labour leadership. Only 13 percent of respondents said they were satisfied with Starmer’s performance as Prime Minister, while 79 percent expressed dissatisfaction.

https://thenationalpulse.com/2025/10/01/uk-govt-slashes-farages-security-funding-amid-rise-in-political-violence/

https://www.antiwar.com/