Act.IL (also Act-IL) was a

social networking service A social networking service (SNS), or social networking site, is a type of online social media platform which people use to build social networks or social relationships with other people who share similar personal or career content, interest ...

used by supporters of

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

to oppose online "anti-Israel content" such as the

boycott, divestment and sanctions movement Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a Nonviolence, nonviolent Palestinians, Palestinian-led movement promoting Boycotts of Israel, boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel. Its objective is to pressure Israel to meet ...

(BDS). Its activities were referred to as "an online propaganda campaign" and "a virtual situation room of pro-Israel experts". Act.IL directed its users to "missions" to

like In English, the word ''like'' has a very flexible range of uses, ranging from conventional to non-standard. It can be used as a noun, verb, adverb, adjective, preposition, particle, conjunction, hedge, filler, quotative, and semi-suffix. U ...

, comment on, and share pro-Israel material on

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

. It also asked users to flag, report, and respond to criticisms of Israel. Users were guided on how to respond, which might entail writing a reply using the provided talking points, or sharing or upvoting an allied comment. The app also provided users with ready-made

meme A meme (; ) is an idea, behavior, or style that Mimesis, spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying c ...

s promoting Israel's perspective for them to share. By completing missions users earned points, unlocked badges, and had their scores displayed on leaderboards.

History

According to ''+972'', Act.Il was the centerpiece of a digital campaign called 4IL ('For Israel') announced in 2017 by

Gilad Erdan Gilad Menashe Erdan ( ; born 30 September 1970) is an Israeli politician and diplomat who served as Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations from 2020 through 2024. Erdan previously served as Ambassador of Israel to the United ...

, then the Minister of Strategic Affairs, for the promotion of Israel and delegitimization of

Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a nonviolent Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel. Its objective is to pressure Israel to meet what the BDS movement describes as Israel's ...

(BDS). The Act.Il app would assign users 'missions' to challenge social media posts it considered to be critical of Israel or in favor of the BDS movement. Erdan called it an "

Iron Dome Iron Dome () is an Israeli mobile all-weather air defense system, developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries. The system is designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells fired f ...

of truth." Act-IL was a joint project of the private Israeli university

IDC Herzliya Reichman University () is Israel's only private university, located in Herzliya, Tel Aviv District. It was founded in 1994 as the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya (IDC Herzliya, ) private college, before being rebranded in 2021. It receives no ...

and the US-based Israeli-American Council. The

Maccabee Task Force The Maccabee Task Force is a conservative Zionism, Zionist organization operating with the aims of countering Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movements on college campuses and promoting pro-Israel beliefs amongst young people. It was founded in ...

, one of

Sheldon Adelson Sheldon Gary Adelson (August 4, 1933 – January 11, 2021) was an American businessman, investor, and political donor. He was the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Las Vegas Sands Corporation, which founded the Marina Bay Sa ...

's foundations, is a major funder of Act.IL. The organization behind Act.IL is staffed by former intelligence officers and has a collegial relationship with the

Israeli Intelligence Community The Israeli Intelligence Community () is made up of Aman (military intelligence), Mossad (overseas intelligence) and Shin Bet (internal security). Current agencies Former agencies * Nativ: the organization responsible for bringing Jews ...

. It had a close relationship with Israel's

Ministry of Strategic Affairs The Ministry of Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy (, ''HaMisrad LeNos'im Astrategi'im'') is an Israeli government ministry responsible for leading the campaign of expanding the Abraham Accords and the handling of ties on White House matters ...

which combats the BDS movement which it views as a threat. According to

Mondoweiss ''Mondoweiss'' is a news website that began as a general-interest blog written by Philip Weiss on ''The New York Observer'' website. It subsequently developed into a broader collaborative venture after fellow journalist Adam Horowitz joined it ...

, an email sent in March 2022 to the app's users announced that the app will be shut down but that users should continue to interact with Act.IL's content on its other social media platforms.

References

{{reflist Mobile social software Organizations involved in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict Propaganda in Israel Internet manipulation and propaganda 2017 software

History

See also

References