Israel Pays Piro $900,000 as Fake Think Tank Targets AI Chatbots

Large language models increasingly draw on web content and search results to answer current-affairs questions, creating an opening for public-relations campaigns to shape what users see. Responsible Statecraft reported that Piro, Inc., a U.S. communications firm, created the Hanover Institute for Public Policy on behalf of the Israeli Government Advertising Agency. The site presents unsigned, think-tank-style reports on Gaza, Israel and antisemitism, a strategy critics describe as “LLM poisoning” because machine-readable, citation-heavy content may be surfaced by ChatGPT, Gemini and other chatbots.

Piro has received $900,000 from the Israeli government for its work, subcontracted through Havas Media. The Hanover Institute began publishing on Aug. 6, 2026, and released more than 100 reports in just over a week. Responsible Statecraft tested 12 randomly selected articles with GPTZero, which rated 11 as AI-written with high confidence and one with moderate confidence. The reports repeatedly cite the Israel Defense Forces and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Piro co-founder Daniel Rosenberg said the firm’s aim was to place accurate, sourced facts in the public record and counter misinformation about Israel.