At least 128 members of Congress were targeted by an Israel-linked operation for the dissemination of pro-Israeli military content amid the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, according to data shared with Politico by an Israeli disinformation watchdog group.

The New York Times in its report yesterday, Wednesday, reported that the operation was supported by the Israeli government and targeted several American politicians without, however, mentioning a specific number.

The organization of an influence campaign targeting US lawmakers was first made public last March. In it, about 600 fake profiles unleashed more than 2,000 coordinated comments a week supporting Israel’s military actions, criticizing Palestinian rights groups and rejecting allegations of human rights abuses.

The posts targeted the social media accounts of at least 128 US lawmakers, according to FakeReporter, an Israeli anti-disinformation organization that first reported the existence of the network.

Among the names and lawmakers on the list shared with Politico are Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) and Reps. Jim Cliburn (D.C.);
Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Sodell Brown (D-Ohio). The list also includes House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (DN.Y.) and Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga).

Commentators on the disinformation network posed as American social media users and regularly reinforced pro-Israel messages by sharing links to fake news outlets.

According to the New York Times, Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs spent $2 million on the campaign and hired the Israeli political marketing team Stoic to make it happen. FakeReporter was unable to confirm who was behind the groups making the pro-Israel comments, but Meta published a separate report last week claiming that STOIC was behind the disinformation campaign and announced that it had banned the company from social networking platforms.

A spokesman for the Israeli Embassy in Washington declined to comment on the report. He instead relied on a statement denying involvement by the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, which notes that the ministry “categorically” denies any involvement.

“We would like to clarify that neither the Ministry of Diaspora nor Voices of Israel have any affiliation or cooperation with the company Stoic,” the statement said. “Any claim to the contrary is completely unfounded and inaccurate.”

Senator Richard Blumenthal was one of the lawmakers targeted by online posts from the Israel-backed campaign at least 88 times. When asked by Politico on Wednesday about the report, he said he knew “nothing more about it than what I’ve read.”

“I want to know exactly what was done by whom and who was contacted,” he added.

White House National Security Council officials declined to comment on the findings. The Israeli watchdog group accused its government of engaging in crude foreign influence operations that pose enormous risk while doing little to combat disinformation threats at home.