Top Tweets for #Normalizar

Israel's military turned its female soldiers into a global marketing campaign, and it has run without consequence for twenty years. The Israeli army built a propaganda machine out of sex appeal to sell an occupation to audiences who would otherwise look away. Brand Israel turns soldiers into content: In 2005, Israel launched the Brand Israel campaign to reframe the country's international image away from conflict and toward lifestyle and culture. Female soldiers became central to that strategy. In 2007, the Israeli consulate in New York partnered with Maxim magazine for a photoshoot titled "The World's Sexiest Soldiers," targeting Americans aged 18 to 35 who, according to the consulate, did not care about Israel. Influencers carry the operation forward: Social media accounts like that of Natalia Fadeev, known online as Gun Waifu, and the group Alpha Gun Angels, founded by former IDF model Orin Julie, mix kawaii aesthetics with weapons imagery to normalize the soldier as a sex symbol. IDF regulations prohibit uniformed soldiers from posting selfies online. No viral account running this content has faced punishment in over a decade. Combat roles remain a fraction of service: Despite over 90 percent of IDF positions being open to women, fewer than 10 percent of female soldiers serve in combat roles. The gap between the marketed image of the armed woman and the reality of IDF service is by design. The aesthetic does the political work that facts would undermine. Gal Gadot, Hollywood, and a sticker: Gal Gadot, a former IDF combat instructor, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Her 2025 film Snow White cost $270 million and grossed approximately $205 million. After the film's failure, she claimed celebrities face pressure for publicly supporting Israel. In May 2025, someone placed a sticker on her star that read: "Israeli snipers target children." AI accounts extend the reach: Starting in 2024, fake AI-generated accounts impersonating IDF soldiers began circulating across platforms, spreading disinformation about Gaza while collecting donations. The accounts use computer-generated faces to simulate the same soldier-influencer aesthetic. They operate without any real person behind them and without platform accountability.