Israel Defends Itself Against Hague Genocide Allegations with Google Ads
Israel is defending itself against allegations that its siege of Gaza is a genocide with Google search ads, in what appears to be a world first.
A Google search for the ongoing hearing against Israel at the Hague International Court of Justice yielded an ad calling South Africa’s genocide case against it “meaningless” and linking to an Israeli government website for some users on Thursday. Motherboard viewed the ad, which appears above news coverage of Thursday’s hearing at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the Hague. Google told Motherboard it reviewed the ad against its policies and did not take any action.
The ad was first noted on X when a user posted a screenshot of their Google search for “icj” which yielded a sponsored ad titled “Israel response to Hague ICJ” above the Google information panel for the ICJ. The ad includes subheadings of “October 7th: The Invasion” and “The North Border,” as well as survivor testimonies and resources.
Motherboard was not able to replicate the search using only the term “ICJ,” but was able to find the ad when searching “ICJ Israel.” The ad’s descriptive text reads in full, “SA’s claim is meaningless—the malicious blood libel advanced by South Africa seeks to slander the State of israel. South Africa’s claim lacks any factual or legal basis and renders meaningless.”
The ad links to the Israeli government website govextra.gov.il. The page lists information about Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack which killed 1,200 Israelis, and a video claims that “Israel is doing everything in its power to prevent harm to innocent civilians in Gaza and is acting according to international humanitarian law.”
Israel’s bombing campaign and ground offensive in Gaza have killed over 22,000 people so far, and displaced 85 percent of the region’s 2.3 million inhabitants. South Africa alleges that Israel’s actions “are genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part” of the Palestinian people living in Gaza.
A Google spokesperson told Motherboard in an email that it had reviewed the ad and had not taken any enforcement action. They pointed Motherboard to the Google Ads sensitive event policy, which bans “ads that potentially profit from or exploit a sensitive event with significant social, cultural, or political impact.” The policy explicitly notes that due to the war in Ukraine, Google was pausing ads related to Russian state-funded media. There is no note about Israel-Palestine.
This is not the first time Israel has circulated sponsored ads online. In 2022, Amnesty International released a report on Israel’s “apartheid against Palestinians,” which it characterized as a “a cruel system of domination and a crime against humanity.” In response, Israel created a webpage accusing Amnesty of smearing the state, and promoted it via Google Ads. Additionally, in 2021, the Israeli government sponsored a YouTube ad justifying the bombing of Gaza. When Motherboard contacted YouTube about the ad, it was removed.
The genocide case against Israel is unlikely to reach a resolution any time soon, but South Africa is seeking an immediate cessation of Israel’s siege.
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