A survey commissioned by the Tel Aviv Institute (TLVI) has provided insights into the effectiveness of Israel-related advocacy on social media, including evidence that TLVI’s model seems to be working.
Hen Mazzig, a Senior Fellow at TLVI and a prominent player in the Israel information space on social media, is one of the standout performers according to the survey.
TLVI’s Social Media Laboratory aims to “take on antisemitism where it starts” and “provide resources, data, and proven strategies for those who fight hate in the digital space with an inclusive tone focused on bringing new people into advocacy for Jews – rather than preaching to the temple choir.”
The survey, conducted by The Generation Lab, sought to quantify the effectiveness of pro-Israel information influencers on social media, particularly in the context of the ongoing Israel-Hamas War. The survey polled 600 people between the ages of 18 and 50, seeking participants who had previously weighed in on the Israel-Hamas war over the past year. The study aimed to assess the impact of 14 different social media accounts, divided into three categories: pro-Israel voices associated with TLVI, “legacy” Jewish/Israel organizations and influencers and Israel-critical voices.
TLVI says that in the survey, Mazzig leads with an impact rating of 26.7%, which, when combined with TLVI’s broader network of influencers, soars to having a positive influence on 41.7% of respondents views of Israel.
The efficacy of Mazzig’s posts were compared with the social media accounts of 13 other people and organizations. According to the survey, TLVI concludes that Hen Mazzig’s approach was the most influential among the 14 accounts in shaping the perceptions of the average bystander. TLVI shared that Mazzig led across all metrics, from impact and understanding to engagement and credibility. TLVI believes that this shows Mazzig’s digital advocacy is setting a new benchmark in effectiveness.
“Hen has emerged as an absolute powerhouse in the digital advocacy space. Nobody has come even close to him,” Dr. Ron Katz, President of TLVI, told the Journal.
The survey also touts Mazzig’s ability to build trust with diverse audiences. TLVI says that Mazzig’s content is trusted by over 34% of participants, a figure that rises to 55.2% when including TLVI’s broader network of influencers. TLVI concludes that this shows their approach is highly effective in building credibility, particularly outside the Jewish-Israel ecosystem. “He is succeeding across age groups, he’s succeeding across genders, he’s succeeding on religious differences,” Katz said.
Another finding from the survey is the engagement level Mazzig’s content generates. TLVI says that a significant 32.9% of participants indicated they would share Mazzig’s posts, demonstrating his unparalleled ability to connect and communicate. He currently has over 229,000 followers on X and over 300,000 followers on Instagram, though the follower counts and basic engagement analytics only tell part of the story, according to the survey. “His content isn’t just seen — it’s shared,” the survey claims. TLVI concludes that this shows Mazzig’s content resonates powerfully with audiences, driving both engagement and positive sentiment.
The survey broke down the demographics of how each of the 14 accounts fared amongst the 600 respondents — including race, religion, gender identity, and degree of bystanders — whether they were neutral prior to the war and if they remained neutral at the end of the survey.
“The methodology was to identify key events that people would generally be aware of as opposed to an obscure event that nobody heard of,” Katz said. “Then we took posts that were posted at roughly the same time, same day and time related to those specific events. So here’s the Tel Aviv Institute’s influencers take, here’s Jewish organizations take on it, here’s some anti-Jewish organizations’ and people’s take. So the respondents got to look at all of that and reach their own conclusion about which was more credible, which was more trustworthy, which was more likely to change your mind, to make you more positive. When you say ‘change your mind,’ I’m not going to take a neutral person and turn ’em to an Israel lover with a few posts. But if we are effectively moving people toward us rather than the other side — moving them away from us — we’ve done what needs to be done.”
Mazzig acknowledges the challenges of maintaining credibility in such a polarized and fast-paced world of breaking news and sensational controversies, and providing nuanced information.
“It’s about being transparent with our audience,” Katz said. “If we get something wrong, we own up to it, and we take steps to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
“It’s about being transparent with our audience,” Katz said. “If we get something wrong, we own up to it, and we take steps to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Despite his success, Mazzig acknowledges that advocacy in 2024 isn’t always airtight. Just last week, Mazzig was one of the many Israel information influencers and news outlets that shared a translation of a heartbreaking suicide note purportedly written by a survivor of the Nova Festival massacre. But within 72 hours of the letter being spread across social media, Israeli news media concluded that the suicide note was fabricated.
Unlike so many across social media who either left the post up or just deleted it without comment, Mazzig owned up to the mistake.
“I definitely learned a lot from this one,” Mazzig said. “It was a painful lesson in the importance of verification, especially in a space where misinformation is so rampant. I want to make sure that what we put out there is 100% accurate because people are trusting us to get it right.” Mazzig’s and TLVI’s approach to verification involves rigorous checks.
“Our methodology has always been for our content team to find three sources of information before reporting about something,” Mazzig said. “And we have specific sources that we see as green and that are verified that we can use. In this case, with the letter, we only had two sources that are verified. We totally failed to find a third. So what we’ve changed is that we are now making sure that there’s always three sources of information. We’re not going to share anything that is anonymous unless we can verify it before.”
Katz agreed that nothing is more valuable than being credible.
“Our credibility is everything, and we can’t afford to lose it by sharing unverified content,” Katz said. “It’s about being transparent with our audience. If we get something wrong, we own up to it, and we take steps to make sure it doesn’t happen again. That’s part of building trust—being honest even when it’s difficult.”
According to the survey conducted in May, Mazzig’s influence was particularly noted for its trustworthiness The survey findings also indicated that Mazzig’s messaging was the most effective amongst those in the survey at changing the perceptions of those surveyed who were initially neutral or ambivalent about Israel. TLVI says that Mazzig successfully shifted the perspectives of nearly a third of respondents toward a more favorable view of Israel. “This isn’t just influence — it’s transformation,” TLVI concludes in the survey’s summary, suggesting that their model is reshaping public opinion in meaningful ways.
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