Charlie Kirk told Netanyahu how to win the ‘Information War’ |
On May 2, 2025, before his death, Charlie Kirk wrote a letter to PM Netanyahu, in which he said that he was a staunch supporter of Israel, but that he was “defending Israel in public more than your own government”. He also pointed out that support for Israel, even among Republicans, has gone down by 14 points, according to a June poll by Quinnipiac University. The drop has been sharper among younger conservatives. As Kirk said, “Israel is getting CRUSHED on social media and you are losing younger generations of Americans, even among MAGA conservatives”. To remedy this, Kirk suggested a “communications intervention” and suggested several potential solutions, including a “a rapid response team to push back on criticism”, a team of “pro-Israel experts who can rapidly fact check misinformation”, an “Israel Truth Network” website to debunk “negative Israel questions” and marketing Israel as if it was “a political candidate” in the U.S.
Kirk’s approach is not unlike one suggested by Israel’s MISGAV, an Israeli Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy. The Institute noted that effective public diplomacy is essential for Israel at all times, but was even more important in wartime, where there are many, to put it mildly, distorted images and interpretations made by media of Israel’s actions. The problem........