Al Jazeera Investigation Uncovers Fabricated Viewership for Israeli Counter-Film

An Al Jazeera investigation has revealed significant discrepancies in the claimed viewership numbers for an Israeli counter-film intended to challenge the acclaimed documentary NAZA. Despite claims of over 44 million views, the probe, which analyzed domain registries, web archives, source code, and independent traffic tools, exposed fabricated figures promoted by official Israeli entities.

The original film, NAZA, which earned a special jury prize at the Venice International Film Festival and a lengthy standing ovation, is based on testimonies from 24 Israeli military whistleblowers who accuse the army of using AI-powered targeting systems that resulted in numerous civilian deaths in Gaza. The term 'NAZA' itself is an Israeli military designation for expected civilian casualties in airstrikes.

The success of NAZA prompted a strong reaction in Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for a thorough investigation into the film's participants, demanding prosecution for alleged information security violations. Directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor faced accusations of treason, with Netanyahu and Culture Minister Miki Zohar threatening to revoke their Israeli citizenship.

In response to the global attention on NAZA, a counter-film was produced. The domain nazadocumentary.com was registered shortly after NAZA premiered, initially posing as the official website for NAZA, detailing screenings and press information, but framing the film as exposing systems used for the 'calculated mass killing of terrorists in Gaza.' This deceptive page was later replaced with 'NAZA: The Real Story.' The creators of the 49-minute counter-film, Ariel Averbuch, Roy Danino, and Hagai Gutman, stated it was self-funded. Additional domains, whatisnaza.com and watchnaza.com, were created to direct viewers to the counter-film.

By October 14, the nazadocumentary.com website displayed a view counter showing 43,758,421 views, without any disclosed source or calculation method. In stark contrast, the official YouTube channel for the full 49-minute film had fewer than 130,000 views by the same date, indicating the website's counter showed approximately 336 times the actual viewership. The YouTube channel had under 2,000 subscribers, and the film's X account had only 170 followers.

Independent traffic analysis platforms corroborated these findings. Semrush, a US-based platform, estimated the site's total visits by October 8 at around half a million, while Similarweb, founded in Israel, reported only 326 visits for September. Furthermore, the film's domains were not found among the world's top one million most visited domains on the Tranco list. Semrush data indicated that 80 percent of the website's initial traffic originated from Israel, with direct links being the primary source in October.

An examination of the website's source code revealed that an internal element tagged 'visitors' was displayed to users as 'views.' The number is served directly from the site's server, obscuring its calculation. The counter also appears to simulate a live count by starting at 97 percent of its value and incrementing for three seconds. The site also collects viewing data, sending a 'watch-tracker' file after approximately 25 seconds of playback, though it remains unclear if this data informs the displayed counter.

Despite the questionable metrics, official Israeli accounts actively promoted the counter-film. The Israeli Embassy in Washington shared it on social media, and Tzipi Hotovely, head of Israel’s National Public Diplomacy Directorate, recognized the creators for their work. Hotovely cited the film's 'tens of millions of views' as a success in transforming an 'unsupported, fabricated number into an official talking point.' This digital campaign occurred amidst Israel's ongoing conflict in Gaza, which began in October 2023 and has resulted in a significant number of Palestinian casualties, according to Gaza's Ministry of Health.