A New Gaza Rage Machine—with Polish Origins

Middle East 24, also known as ME24, is, according to its website, “a bold digital media platform” aimed at cutting through the noise of “extremist platforms that glorify radicalism” to deliver “fact-based content and authentic analysis that champions peace, democracy, and moderation.” Coverage touches on Israel-Gaza diplomacy, the perils of Hamas, and the energy sector. The site debuted the first week of September, the product of a team of contributors led by Dan Feferman—an author and cohost of a podcast called Jewanced, who also serves as the chairman of Sharaka, a nongovernmental organization that promotes trade relations between Israel and Gulf states. But you won’t find his name, or anyone else’s, on the stories published by ME24. Where a byline would be, it reads “327099pwpadmin.” Articles, around ten of which are published per day, feature grainy images and anonymous analysis that sometimes reveals itself to be AI, as a headline did when I checked the site recently: “I apologize for any inconvenience, but I unfortunately don’t have access to the URL to read the article’s content,” the top of the page read. “If you can provide more details or a summary of the article, I’d be happy to help create an SEO optimized article title based on the provided information.”

This was a technical glitch revealing of something more: As Middle East 24 notes on X, where it already has more than nineteen thousand followers, the venture is a partner of Visegrád 24—a social-media-first news channel that identifies as “the Most Influential Anti-Hamas Account,” with 1.4 million followers on X and a self-reported seven billion yearly impressions. Visegrád 24, founded in 2020 with a focus on Central Europe, achieved sudden reach and influence when Russia invaded Ukraine. The site pushed newswire summaries alongside sensationalist stories—Leonardo DiCaprio donating ten million dollars to Ukraine, Pornhub blocking access to its page from Russia—that turned out to be false. Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter benefited Visegrád 24: a few times, when the account was banned for violating community guidelines, Musk saw to its reinstatement; he also reposted Visegrád 24 content. “ME24 will use the same proven strategy,” Middle East 24’s donation page states.

“Middle East 24 basically happened because of a very simple reason: a bunch of people who are concerned about where the region is going and see an opportunity to do something about it came together,” Ahmed Quraishi, a Pakistani journalist and policy expert who is a member of ME24’s advisory board, told me. Under Feferman’s direction, Quraishi said, he and a group of several other Middle East policy wonks set the site’s agenda. (Feferman declined to speak with me.) “We volunteer our own sort of help in framing in a way that would serve our interest and would be clear and accurate,” Quraishi said.

There is no newsroom. Per Quraishi, articles are produced and posted on social media by a rotating team of copy editors shared with Visegrád 24. “Initially we began with their team, and now we’re expanding with our own indigenous domestic Middle East–based team, mostly based in Dubai, but also in other countries in the region,” he said. When I asked why articles are anonymous, he replied, “We are volunteering our time and resources; many of us are involved in other work. And of course we need to also be on the right side of the ethical concerns.”