Portuguese influencers' Israel trip fuels debate on influencer marketing ethics

A group of Portuguese social‑media influencers, including Rute Sousa, Andreia de Sousa Viegas, Romeu Monteiro, Tiago Sousa (known as TVDE do Tuga), Rute Obadia, Bruna Fortunato and Filipe M. Vilarinho, travelled to Israel on a fully funded visit organized by the Israeli embassy. While journalists were barred from entering Gaza, the influencers filmed Hamas tunnels and posted stories that highlighted Israeli narratives and omitted the reported 70,000 civilian deaths.

The trip sparked criticism on social platforms and raised questions about the ethics, transparency and responsibility of creators when recruited by governments involved in armed conflicts. Experts warned that such collaborations risk turning influencers into tools of public diplomacy, blurring the line between commercial promotion and geopolitical messaging. The Israeli public‑relations budget is slated to rise to $730 million by 2026, according to the Jerusalem Post.

Portuguese journalist Diana Duarte, now a press officer for the Israeli embassy in Lisbon, was identified as the recruiter. One influencer, the LGBTQ activist known as Kiko, publicly refused the invitation, condemning the effort as “cleaning up an image” and drawing half‑a‑million views for his statement.