Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), accused the Israeli entity of launching a systematic campaign to defame the agency and obstruct its work, by purchasing misleading ads on the Google platform with the aim of preventing donations to it.
Lazzarini said in a press statement on Saturday that the Israeli government is purchasing ads on the Google platform “to defame the agency and prevent users from donating to it.”
He added: “As part of its campaign to undermine and defame UNRWA, the Israeli government has purchased ads on Google to prevent users from donating to the agency and to launch a smear campaign against it.”
Lazzarini stressed, in a post on the “X” platform, that “this not only harms the agency’s reputation, but more importantly, it puts the lives of our employees at risk.”
The UNRWA Commissioner demanded that “deliberate efforts to spread misleading information must be stopped and investigated.”
He stressed that “s
preading misleading and false information is still being used as a weapon in the war on Gaza,” explaining that “companies, including social media platforms, continue to profit from spreading misleading information.”
He stressed “the need for more regulations to combat misinformation and hate speech” on these platforms, noting that “UNRWA is the largest humanitarian organization responding to the crisis in Gaza.”
UNRWA was established by a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly in 1949, and was mandated to provide assistance and protection to refugees in its five areas of operation in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Source: National Iraqi News Agency