The Israeli government has been accused of purchasing Google ads to discredit the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and discourage donations, according to a statement made by the agency's commissioner-general on Saturday.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has accused the Israeli government of “buying ads on Google to block users from giving donations” to the agency.
Philippe Lazzarini, the UNRWA commissioner-general, took to X (formerly Twitter) to denounce what he described as a "misinformation campaign" by Israel amidst the ongoing conflict in Gaza. "The spread of misinformation and disinformation continues to be used as a weapon in the war in Gaza," Lazzarini stated.
The spread of misinformation & disinformation continues to be used as a weapon in the war in #Gaza.
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) August 31, 2024
As part of its campaign to undermine & discredit @UNRWA, the Government of Israel has been buying ads on @Google to block users from giving donations to the Agency + undertake a…
He accused the Israeli government of buying Google ads in an effort to block users from donating to the agency and to carry out a defamation campaign against UNRWA. "UNRWA is the largest humanitarian organization responding to the crisis in Gaza," Lazzarini noted, stressing that the campaign not only damages the agency’s reputation but also endangers the lives of its staff.
Lazzarini called for an end to these "deliberate efforts" to spread misinformation and urged for an investigation into the matter. He also criticized companies, including social media platforms, for profiting from the dissemination of disinformation, underscoring the need for stronger regulations to combat these practices.
"The spread of misinformation, disinformation has become a weapon of war," Juliette Touma, director of communications at UNRWA who was quoted in the WIRED piece, told The New Arab, referring to Israel's war on Gaza.
"This is part of a bigger effort to dismantle the agency, dismantle UNRWA."
By analysing user searches from May to July for over 300 terms related to UNRWA, data from UNRWA USA's Google Ads account revealed that Israeli ads appeared 44 percent of the time, and both Israeli and UNRWA USA ads were eligible to be shown.
UNRWA USA ads appeared in just 34 percent of eligible circumstances.
"We've seen quite a number of attempts, including a spread of misinformation and disinformation, and this story is only one of a much bigger campaign against the agency, where there is quite a lot of efforts to dismantle [UNRWA]," Touma tells The New Arab.
She added that the Israeli government was using Google as a "tool" to further its campaign.
A Google spokesperson defended this policy, in comments to The New Arab, saying: "Governments are allowed to run ads on Google and YouTube, as long as they adhere to our strict ads policies.
"These policies are publicly available and we enforce them consistently and without bias. If we find ads that violate those policies, we take swift action."
UNRWA is the largest humanitarian organisation providing aid to Gaza.
Israel Terrorist has long sought the closure of UNRWA, which is the only UN agency specifically mandated to address the basic needs of Palestinian refugees. Established by a UN resolution in 1949, UNRWA provides assistance and protection to refugees in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the occupied West Bank, and the Gaza Strip.
Last month, the UN denounced an Israeli government spokesperson after he described Lazzarini as a “terrorist sympathiser”.
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