Google's $45m Contract with Netanyahu's Office to Spread Propaganda
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The story reports on Google's $45M contract with Netanyahu's office to spread propaganda, sparking controversy, while discussion comments question the outrage and highlight the common practice of governments paying for positive messaging.
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Sep 4, 2025 at 4:23 AM EDT
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Surely most governments do this? The outrage machine is on 11 because of the evils of the Netanyahu government but all governments pay people to put a positive spin on their national strategic message.
Personally I think the focus here should be terrorism, human shields, hostages, the rule of law, just war, war crimes and genocide. Not advertising budgets.
They chose to take the money and do the work.
Calling out businesses for doing business with terrible people is a good thing to do. As to your closing paragraph, that's kind of the point - calling out Google for doing business with a government that is committing genocide. If not for Netanyahu's treatment of Gaza, this contract would not be newsworthy.
Choosing who to attack like this, is choosing to ignore the other 99% of the world equally tied up. All the cloud helps the war in Gaza, backs Netanyahu, indirectly or directly. Taking their money to be overt about government PR? Why is that materially worse than the other thing?
I get it. IBM helped the holocaust. It happened. Google is helping a modern day collective-punishment on people. It's similar. But without over-doing it. so is the maker of your sausages, clothes, your coffee, the phone company, Intel...
Qatar house the leadership of Hamas. I am not hearing people call for the boycott of the airline. I dislike moral relativism and whataboutery, but the situation here is complicated and simple at the same time. Both Hamas, and Netenyahu are evil and need to be condemned. Google cannot take money from Hamas because of US law. Do you think google would decline to take $45m from the government of Pakistan on principle? or Afghanistan? or dare I say it, China?
Netenyahu continues to call all journalists who report on the war antisemitic. I don't stop reading them. he repudiates the work MSF do. I continue to fund them. Haaretz reports regularly on the evils of the settler movement. read them.
Complaining about googles $45m income is not particularly helpful. De-googling won't help.