Israel creates fake think tank in likely attempt to dupe AI chatbots • Hacker News Board

Re: Israel creates fake think tank in likely attempt to dupe AI chatbots

#751

Post by manyaoman » Tue, Aug 18, 2026, 7:23 PM UTC

starik36 wrote: post #739

manyaoman wrote: post #729

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"47% of [American] Jews now view the Israeli government favorably, down from 54% [in 2024]." https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/07/09/americans...

From the article: How did we do this? This analysis includes findings from a survey of 12,574 U.S. adults, 10,091 of whom are part of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP). The remaining 2,483 respondents include oversamples of Jews, Muslims and Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints members from SSRS’ Opinion Panel, Ipsos’ KnowledgePanel and NORC’s AmeriSpeak Panel. We conducted the survey May 4-17, 2026, an…

They also say "We weren’t able to survey enough Muslims to show how their views differ by age", so I guess the number of Jews isn't that much below 2,483. According to Gemini that already gives +-2% margin of error, which sounds good enough to me.

> Even so, I don't know if I would characterize 54 to 47 as viewing as "abhorrent" as OP said.

Agreed, also not quite "closed ranks" though. Exactly in between I guess.

Re: Israel creates fake think tank in likely attempt to dupe AI chatbots

#752

Post by thrance » Tue, Aug 18, 2026, 7:25 PM UTC

karim79 wrote: post #44

Itamar Ben-Gvir, just recently, stated that he wants to kill 30-40 Palestinians every night. He said so, publicly. So it is hilarious that Israel is trying to influence chatbots when shit like that is out in the open.

Ben-Gvir's first date with his wife (who was 15 then, when he was 26) was at the grave of Baruch Goldstein, a mass-murder that killed 29 Palestinians. Ben-Gvir kept a portrait of the guy in his office for years.

Zionists want you to believe the conflict began on October 7th, when people like him have been running Israel for a long time.

Re: Israel creates fake think tank in likely attempt to dupe AI chatbots

#753

Post by culi » Tue, Aug 18, 2026, 7:29 PM UTC

____mr____ wrote: post #363

culi wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's already been happening for a very long time. The US' "Operation Earnest Voice" happened in 2010/2011[0] And it's not just state actors. Anyone who was online during the Amber Heard/Johnny Depp trials was likely inundated with media about that trial. Both of their legal teams utilized bots to drive online discussions[1][2] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Earnest_Voice [1] https://www.latimes.com/enter…

Both of their legal teams utilized bots to drive online discussions[1][2] Neither of these sources support this claim as none of them include any discussion on Amber Heard('s legal team) using bots?

I'll be completely honest with you about what I believe: I think the the UK trial unequivocally proved that Johnny Depp is a violent and abusive. The US trial, which was only about defamation, was clearly a sham trial and did not address the legitimacy of the evidence (UK's case found clear evidence for 12 of the 14 alleged incidences of violence. It also established a clear pattern of abuse).

Depp's behavior during the US trial is textbook DARVO (Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender) and any abuse expert would be able to immediately recognize it.

The reason I "both sides"'d it is because

A) I remember reading about evidence that Heard's team also used bots (obviously much less successfully). I could not find that evidence this time. I am not personally critical of her using bots to defend herself but, if she did, it would still be a notable feature of modern highly public debates.

B) When it was all going down, I remember something like 97% of tiktoks being pro-Depp (I wasn't on TikTok, just read a study). My main goal was to get people to accept the reality that even legal teams are working with PR firms that run massive bot farms to influence public opinion. Regardless of my opinion on who is in the right and who is in the wrong. I thought if I took an explicit side, the male-leaning demographics of HN would be less likely to engage with my actual main point

Re: Israel creates fake think tank in likely attempt to dupe AI chatbots

#754

Post by culi » Tue, Aug 18, 2026, 7:31 PM UTC

red-iron-pine wrote: post #689

InsideOutSanta wrote: post #558

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, we don't need to "both sides" this. It's obvious which side had the bot army.

i'll bite: which one?

Depp's bot army was clearly more widespread and more successful. The reality is that it was a mixture of bot armies and the hive mind taking off by itself. A sort of organic-synthetic cyborg

Re: Israel creates fake think tank in likely attempt to dupe AI chatbots

#755

Post by thrance » Tue, Aug 18, 2026, 7:32 PM UTC

pydry wrote: post #523

A_D_E_P_T wrote: post #406

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's legitimately weird to see anybody defend them, as the immorality is out in the open. The past few years have really opened my eyes to the nakedly tribal nature of democratic politics. Polybius was largely correct when he said that it inevitably degenerates into oligarchy or mob-rule -- but what's especially unfortunate is that the US and Israel appear to be getting both at the same time: A naked oligarchy with j…

It really disturbed me discovering how many nominally liberal people who would react in horror at casual use of the n word are quite comfortable with genocidal racism.

As you said, nominally liberal. What Israel is doing is deeply illiberal, and actual liberals, if there are any left, don't support the Zionist project.

That's why support for Israel is such a good wedge issue that leftists keep hammering on. If a nominally liberal politician is willing to support such an obviously illiberal position, then what other fundamental liberal values are they willing to give up?

Re: Israel creates fake think tank in likely attempt to dupe AI chatbots

#756

Post by thrance » Tue, Aug 18, 2026, 7:38 PM UTC

gosub100 wrote: post #661

forestrywat wrote: post #596

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suspect that's true, but the proportion of people is wildly different. Every leftist I know is anti genocide, and sees Gaza and the West Bank as unconscionable. Some may then take that to antisemitism (rather than simply opposing Zionism). On the right, though? I expect you see a lot more antisemitism leading to "what positions can I express to cloak my blatant antisemitism..."

That fails to explain why trump and other far right pundits are calling Tucker a terrorist for loudly decrying the genocide and the actions of Israel.

Tucker is right to call for an end to the genocide, and he's also personally extremely antisemitic. Both these things can be true at once.

Re: Israel creates fake think tank in likely attempt to dupe AI chatbots

#757

Post by eli_gottlieb » Tue, Aug 18, 2026, 7:38 PM UTC

koe123 wrote: post #259

eli_gottlieb wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why are you scare-quoting "people"? Are some people not people?

Likely he means bots, not everything is antisemitism mate

I didn't say it was antisemitism. I have seen a lot of online references to anyone who disagrees with XYZ political position as "subhuman" lately, for an shockingly broad range of values of XYZ.

Re: Israel creates fake think tank in likely attempt to dupe AI chatbots

#758

Post by culi » Tue, Aug 18, 2026, 7:41 PM UTC

vcryan wrote: post #633

saidnooneever wrote: post #353

Earlier quoted context omitted.

this has been happening since the dawn of information-communication systems basically. because ever since, people have had the ability to listen in, copy, learn from etc. - so there's always been incentive to spread disinformation for some parties. brand defence, nation-state influence operations. There are many different flavors of the same thing, trying to mislead competitors or enemies. Or to dupe consumers ofc...…

Yes, but when your trying to cover up a genocide it's a bit different

I mean, the US has always done this. Look at the atrocities in Indonesia. Just 20 years after saying "never again" to the Holocaust and we have Goodyear using actual slave labor from death camps. It was the US doing too. A mass killing on the scale of the Holocaust. The "Jakarta Method" was then exported all around the world, especially to South America.

Re: Israel creates fake think tank in likely attempt to dupe AI chatbots

#759

Post by watutalkinbout » Tue, Aug 18, 2026, 7:42 PM UTC

starik36 wrote: post #739

manyaoman wrote: post #729

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"47% of [American] Jews now view the Israeli government favorably, down from 54% [in 2024]." https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/07/09/americans...

From the article: How did we do this? This analysis includes findings from a survey of 12,574 U.S. adults, 10,091 of whom are part of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP). The remaining 2,483 respondents include oversamples of Jews, Muslims and Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints members from SSRS’ Opinion Panel, Ipsos’ KnowledgePanel and NORC’s AmeriSpeak Panel. We conducted the survey May 4-17, 2026, an…

I was referring to Jews outside the US, although I appreciate most Jews outside Israel live in the US (you were referring to Eastern Europe).

I'd agree that within the US opinions differ markedly, which I think is likely in part strongly related to differences in news media environment.

Re: Israel creates fake think tank in likely attempt to dupe AI chatbots

#760

Post by yonixw » Tue, Aug 18, 2026, 7:42 PM UTC

giov4 wrote: post #709

yonixw wrote: post #588

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The commenter referenced 1947. And said from nowadays PERSPECTIVE about THAT time that it's a "bigoted state project". I just reminded them that the project got its population (50%+) from Jews that ran for their lives. So his NOWADAYS perspective about that time is crazy. As from the first moment, it was about protecting Jews. The only other alternative at the time was the US, but with limited immigration after WW2,…

about immigration I found interesting learning that: - before 1948, zionist agencies only allowed young fit pioneers and wealthy persons to immigrate. used a strict selection process that excluded sick, elderly, and poor. - 1950, law of return, "immigration open to all jews", in reality filtered by early state authorities and the Jewish Agency that did exercise administrative, medical, and practical prioritization fa…

All of this just show young country with shaky economy that cannot help elderly and sick. Nothing changes. But because yout lenses are the same, you will never see it.