Google Signs $45 Million Propaganda Deal with Netanyahu to Whitewash Gaza Famine: Report
Leaked documents expose Israeli government’s massive YouTube and Google ad blitz denying famine and shielding war crimes amid a worsening humanitarian catastrophe
Occupied Palestine, PUREWILAYAH.COM - In an investigative report published Wednesday, Drop Site News revealed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has entered into a six-month, $45 million contract with Google to amplify his cabinet’s messaging and downplay the humanitarian crisis in the besieged Gaza Strip.
The deal—handled through Israel’s Government Advertising Agency (Lapam)—covers YouTube and Google’s Display & Video 360 platform.
It began in mid-June 2025, coinciding with Israel’s “Rising Lion” airstrikes on Iran, which killed at least 436 civilians according to Human Rights Activists in Iran.
This Google deal dwarfs separate propaganda contracts signed with X (formerly Twitter) for $3 million and the Franco-Israeli ad network Outbrain/Teads for roughly $2.1 million, making it the most substantial single propaganda contract disclosed to date.
Denying a Man-Made Famine in the Face of UN Evidence
A central feature of the campaign is a YouTube video ad—viewed over six million times—which falsely claims: “There is food in Gaza. Any other claim is a lie.” This messaging directly contradicts the United Nations’ official famine declaration for Gaza governorate in August, which warned that famine conditions were rapidly spreading southward into Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) has stressed that this famine is “entirely man-made” and reversible if Israel’s blockade is lifted.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has warned of a “descent into massive famine,” while Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that 367 Palestinians—131 of them children—have already died from hunger and malnutrition since the war began.
By denying these facts through paid advertising, the Israeli government seeks to undermine credible humanitarian reporting and shift blame for a crisis it has deliberately engineered.
Coordinated Disinformation Against Aid Agencies and Advocacy Groups
The leaked documents describe the initiative as hasbara—Israel’s official term for its global state propaganda apparatus. The contract outlines the campaign’s goal to neutralize global outrage over the complete blockade of food, medicine, fuel, and humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Paid ads have targeted the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), accusing it of “deliberate sabotage” of aid delivery.
Other ads promote Israeli-backed organizations as supposedly neutral humanitarian actors while discrediting pro-Palestinian legal advocacy groups such as the Hind Rajab Foundation, which documents alleged Israeli war crimes.
These tactics aim to delegitimize international oversight, intimidate advocacy groups, and recast Israel as a victim rather than a perpetrator.
Several Israeli ministers have openly endorsed starvation as a policy tool. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told Channel 12, “No water, no electricity, they can die of hunger or surrender.” Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu declared, “There is no nation that feeds its enemies,” later adding that Palestinians “need to starve” and should leave if they fear for their lives.
Big Tech’s Role in Amplifying Israel’s War Narrative
This $45 million deal with Google mirrors earlier concerns raised by UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, who accused the tech giant of profiting from “genocide in Gaza” through Project Nimbus—a multi-year cloud computing contract with the Israeli government and military.
By granting Israel premium access to its advertising platforms, Google plays a central role in amplifying disinformation campaigns designed to whitewash potential war crimes, manipulate global perception, and erode support for Palestinian rights.
Human rights advocates warn that such corporate complicity deepens the humanitarian crisis, shields Israel from accountability, and weaponizes digital media to sustain occupation and collective punishment. (PW)