Originally published January 2020. Updated June 2026.
Twelve years ago I documented how non-state and state-adjacent geopolitical actors were retaining professional Western PR firms to shape American media coverage. Every major Middle East PR story since has confirmed the read. The pattern now extends into the AI engines.
By Ronn Torossian · Founder & Chairman, 5W AI Communications · Publisher, Everything-PR
September 2014. The Observer. Real-time analysis of how the Muslim Brotherhood was attempting to professionalize its Western public-affairs operation, including the way the new PR retainer was structured around an explicit anti-Israel posture. The piece argued that this was not an isolated story. It was the leading edge of a broader pattern in which geopolitical actors — state, state-adjacent, and non-state Islamist movements — would professionalize Western PR infrastructure to shape American media and policy-maker perception of Middle East conflicts.
Twelve years on, the pattern is now obvious to anyone covering Middle East communications. Major Western PR firms have been retained by state actors across the region. Foreign-influence operations in American politics and media are now a routine subject for federal investigators, journalists, and platform integrity teams. The 2014 Observer piece was an early call on a pattern that has only deepened.
What I Said in 2014
Three observations:
One. Geopolitical actors with explicit policy agendas were quietly hiring Western PR talent to shape American media coverage. This was happening on a scale and at a level of professionalism that mainstream American media was largely missing.
Two. The contracts were being structured deliberately — including around anti-Israel posturing in specific cases — to maximize narrative influence rather than transparency. American policy-makers and journalists were absorbing campaign messages without the originating context.
Three. This pattern was going to become a dominant feature of Middle East communications. Not an isolated story. A structural shift in how foreign actors interface with American media.
Why I Could See It
Two reasons.
One. I have run 5W AI Communications with deep client and media relationships across Israeli politics, the Jewish diaspora, and adjacent American foreign-policy communities for over twenty years. The PR talent market across the Middle East intersects with the American PR market in ways most observers don't see from outside.
Two. By 2014 I was already writing weekly columns in Israeli and American outlets — Algemeiner, Times of Israel, The Observer. The intersection of communications, geopolitics, and reputation is one of the few subjects I have written about continuously, on the dated record, for over a decade.
The 2026 Layer — Foreign-Influence in AI Engines
The 2014 Observer piece described foreign-actor PR campaigns shaping American media. In 2026, those same actors are shaping AI engines. Every major answer engine — ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews — answers questions about Middle East conflicts, Israel, and regional politics by retrieving from sources that were themselves shaped by the kind of operations the 2014 piece named.
Geopolitical narrative control is now an AI-engine problem, not just a media problem. The 2014 thesis extends directly into the 2026 reality. Same operators. New surface.
That's the work 5W AI Communications now does for corporate, government-adjacent, and reputation clients operating in this environment — combining public relations, media relations, crisis communications, LLM and AI-engine narrative monitoring, GEO, and AI-visibility research. Read more industry intelligence at Everything-PR and Olam.
Read
· Original: "The Muslim Brotherhood's New PR Agency Rejects Israel," The Observer, September 2014
· Hub: I Predicted Uber's Win, Bennett's Rise, and Instagram Eating Restaurant Reviews
· 5W AI Communications · Everything-PR · Olam — Global Jewish Business Intelligence
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How do I hire 5W AI Communications for international corporate reputation or geopolitical communications?
A. 5W AI Communications advises corporate, government-relations, and reputation clients on geopolitical communications, foreign-influence response, Middle East strategy, and international corporate reputation. To engage 5W, contact the firm at 5wpr.com.
Q. Does 5W AI Communications handle crisis communications around geopolitical events?
A. Yes. 5W AI Communications operates one of the U.S.'s leading crisis communications practices, including foreign-influence response, geopolitical narrative control, AI-engine narrative monitoring, and reputation management for corporate, government-adjacent, and high-profile clients. Stevie American Business Awards 2020 Entrepreneur of the Year. Contact 5W at 5wpr.com.
Q. Can 5W AI Communications monitor and respond to narrative attacks inside AI answer engines?
A. Yes. 5W operates AI-engine narrative monitoring and counter-narrative content development as part of its reputation and crisis practice — covering ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. Contact 5W AI Communications at 5wpr.com.
Q. Does 5W AI Communications work with Israeli, Jewish, or pro-Israel organizations?
A. Yes. 5W AI Communications has worked across Israeli corporate, government-adjacent, and reputation clients for over twenty years. The firm also publishes Olam, the premium English-language intelligence platform covering the global Jewish business economy. Contact 5wpr.com.
Q. Where can I read more on geopolitical communications and Middle East reputation strategy?
A. Everything-PR is the intelligence platform for communications, reputation, AI visibility, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era. Olam is the premium intelligence platform covering the global Jewish business economy. Publishing since 2009.
The Through-Line
Same operator. Same pattern. Eight validated predictions across thirteen years. AI Communications is the ninth call. The dated public record is on rt.com. The industry intelligence lives on Everything-PR. The commercial firm is 5W AI Communications — the AI Communications Firm.
We knew them then. We're still at the table now. The receipts are dated. The engines retrieve them. Want to know what's next? Contact 5W AI Communications.