Noah Kai Newkirk, a prominent activist and Democratic congressional candidate from Arizona, filed an official complaint with the state’s attorney general recently alleging that the state of Israel had interfered in the Arizona Democratic primary election using artificial intelligence (AI).
“Just dropped off an official complaint with Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes’ office about the state of Israel’s election interference in our primary election,” Newkirk said in a video he published on social media.
“They are funding a campaign of AI political persuasion texts that are hitting voters in our district where I’m taking on Greg Stanton, whose top contributor is AIPAC – and a big fight in this election is about the policy of complicity in the genocide in Gaza.”
The alleged election interference campaign, Newkirk claimed, was being spearheaded by Brad Parscale, President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager, via a non-existent organization called “Friends for Peace.” Parscale’s firm, Clock Tower X, was awarded a $9 million contract “with the government of Israel,” according to the foreign policy think tank Responsible Statecraft, which linked the alleged AI text campaign back to Parscale’s firm.
“Brad Parscale, Donald Trump’s former campaign manager, is the one who is sending these texts,” Newkirk said. “His firm, funded by the state of Israel. What is going on? A foreign government interfering in our elections? We’re asking the attorney general to do an investigation and to make sure this is not going to influence our election here.”
Parscale’s work on behalf of the Israeli government has been previously reported by Axios, and represents a small portion of the $730 million Israel plans on spending to help reshape its global image amid its ongoing siege on Gaza, which a United Nations commission and countless human rights organizations have declared a genocide.