Searching for information on the International Court of Justice hearings yielded an Israel-sponsored ad calling the ongoing genocide hearing against it “meaningless.”


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 International Court of Justice (ICJ) 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 the hearing being held in the Hague in the Netherlands. 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.”

read more: https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7b48q/israel-defends-itself-against-hague-genocide-allegations-with-google-ads

  • hottari@lemmy.ml
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    10 months ago

    The US cannot be seen to openly support genocide against the determination of all the other countries that signed the treaty. There’s no world where what you are describing is a win.

        • OurToothbrush@lemmy.mlM
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          10 months ago

          Okay, so why would the US care? If it can get away with genocide surely it can just support an ally doing a genocide and get away with it.

            • OurToothbrush@lemmy.mlM
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              10 months ago

              Bwahahaha

              Oh the leading with the arrogsnce and hoping it makes up for the lack of historical analysis really is cute.

        • TheAnonymouseJoker@lemmy.ml
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          10 months ago

          USA supported and encouraged apartheid in South Africa, and hated black revolutionaries for a reason. USA’s racial segregation policies were the inspiration for Hitler and his Reich regime.

          Morality is not your strong suit.

          • hottari@lemmy.ml
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            10 months ago

            The facts keeps breaking your brains as regards matters international foreign policy and the issue with Israel. Unless you send U.S soldiers to continue the genocide, an ICJ determination will prevail in Gaza. Your feelings do not matter on this. Only facts.

            • TheAnonymouseJoker@lemmy.ml
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              10 months ago

              It is not my feelings, but yours that make you delusional and think ICJ can do anything against the vassal state of USA, Israel. I prefer dealing with facts and non-delusional people, and love mocking delusional people.

              • hottari@lemmy.ml
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                10 months ago

                The USA is not the one on trial at the Hague, so you are definitely delusional and in your feelings there. And the ICJ has before put a stop to many genocides.

                • TheAnonymouseJoker@lemmy.ml
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                  10 months ago

                  Which genocides are these committed by USA or its vassal states, that ICJ has put a stop to? The one in Yemen in last few years? Somalia last year? The one in Yugoslavia in 1990s? Iraq? Vietnam? The one where they wanted to make Ukraine fight against Russia till the “last Ukrainian” (and suddenly now forgot about them)? Or are you talking about the one right now where Israel has full support for militarily and via Western media propaganda?

                  Which one of these is it that ICJ stopped? Because last I remember, ICJ and judges’ family members were sanctioned by the terrorist country USA, during the Iran case in 2020. https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/12/14/us-sanctions-international-criminal-court

                  ICC investigations in Afghanistan and (drumroll) Palestine were thwarted by USA via sanctions in 2020. https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/09/02/qa-international-criminal-court-and-united-states#8

                  The most funny part about this is I shared links from HRW, a CIA/NED outlet.

                  • hottari@lemmy.ml
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                    10 months ago

                    The US has never had genocide cases brought against it to the ICJ, so you are theorizing the issue there. Instead of talking about hypotheticals, it is important to stick to factual events that actually took place while also making the distinction that the ICC is separate court that has nothing to do with the ICJ. ICJ stopped further genocide in Bosnia and recently for the Rohingya people in Myanmar. Here’s a list of all ICJ cases to date.

    • ikidd@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      So a country that’s committed genocidal acts with impunity is not going to get away with refusing to stop others genocide? Where’s the logic in that?

    • Doods@infosec.pub
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      10 months ago

      The US: “I am going to say I don’t support this, but I do, and all of you understand that I do, and you all know what will happen if you refuse”

      Maybe I am just too much of a ‘conspiracy theory acknowledging, modern capitalism hating, 1% despising, extremist muslim’ (or whatever it’s called) but I genuinely don’t think anything good will come out of the west, and that if they had a ‘kill a random innocent child and get slightly richer and more power’ button, they would pay a starving African child 0.01$ an hour to continuously press it for them, and hire a guard to leash them if they get tired.

      (the guard part doesn’t financially make sense as well as not using a machine to press the button, but you get the idea that I hate them so bad I would execute many of them if I had the ability)

      • hottari@lemmy.ml
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        10 months ago

        The US: “I am going to say I don’t support this, but I do, and all of you understand that I do, and you all know what will happen if you refuse”

        True. The world has been following along with this narrative. But times are changing (the US foreign policy has never been weaker) and I don’t think when it comes to it, any country wants to be seen internationally as a supporter of genocide. The West can bluff all they want now but we all know they will be forced to drop Israel just like they did to Ukraine’s war efforts. Genocide is not a casual matter you can brush aside after an ICJ determination.

        • Doods@infosec.pub
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          10 months ago

          True. I think the populations of the world have put so much pressure on this case it can’t be brushed aside, but the US Loves Isreal, and has much experience avoiding consequences, but I am not sure how much of the blow can they soften on Isreal at the moment, but I still don’t doubt the US’s ability to hide history from the masses.

          (I know Trump is old news but the video’s made me laugh when I first saw it)