Starboard Registers as Israel Foreign Agent
Arlington digital marketing firm Starboard signed a $500,000 contract with an Israeli influencer marketing firm acting for the State of Israel.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Advertising
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Starboard, an Arlington, Virginia, digital marketing firm registered under the legal name Olympic Media LLC, has registered as a foreign agent for Israel to run a $500,000 influence campaign in the United States. The contract, signed October 13 with Tel Aviv-based LDRS Group LLC, was disclosed in a Foreign Agents Registration Act filing submitted October 28.
Why it matters
The filing shows a foreign government contracting a U.S.-based firm to run political persuasion efforts aimed at American audiences ahead of the midterm elections. Because the arrangement is registered under FARA, it is publicly disclosed, allowing voters to see who is behind the messaging.
The FARA filing discloses a $500,000 contract for a 120-day multichannel persuasion pilot. Starboard's claimed database of more than 25 million verified conservatives is cited as the audience base, but the filing does not independently verify that figure.
The players
Starboard (Olympic Media LLC)
An Arlington, Virginia digital marketing firm that operates multiple political content websites and social media channels and markets a database of conservative audiences.
LDRS Group LLC
A Tel Aviv-based influencer marketing firm that contracted Starboard on behalf of the State of Israel.
The details
Under the contract, LDRS Group LLC, acting on behalf of the State of Israel, engaged Starboard for a 120-day multichannel persuasion pilot beginning with audience construction and baseline assessment. The pilot includes continuous content distribution, polling, and sentiment analysis to measure effectiveness. Starboard operates political content sites including PolitiBrawl on Substack and YouTube, and its website says it acquired Parler's user base in 2023 before selling the platform in December 2024.
Timeline
October 13, 2026: Starboard signed the contract with LDRS Group LLC.
October 28, 2026: The FARA filing disclosing the arrangement was submitted.
Days before the midterm elections: Starboard registered as a foreign agent.
Market Landscape
The arrangement illustrates how foreign governments increasingly contract U.S. digital marketing firms for political persuasion, operating under the disclosure requirements of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. It places a commercial influence-marketing firm inside a registered foreign-agent relationship during a national election cycle.
For American voters, the FARA filing means foreign-funded political messaging can reach them through commercial marketing firms, and the disclosure is what allows them to identify the foreign principal behind it. Readers who encounter political content from these channels can check FARA registrations to see whether a foreign government is involved.
The takeaway
Registered foreign-agent disclosures are the primary tool readers have for identifying government-funded persuasion behind commercial political content. Checking the FARA registry before trusting a political message from an unfamiliar source is a practical step.
Further reading
Explore more Advertising coverage to see how influence-marketing contracts are reported across the industry.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Sludge.
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