Civic Shield · Evidence infrastructure for accountable action.
From online signal to evidence that can withstand scrutiny.
Civic Shield is building AI-assisted public-benefit infrastructure to help civil society turn fragmented online signals of antisemitism into traceable evidence, contextual intelligence and responsible action. We are currently designing and validating the methodology, safeguards and technical foundations for a first controlled pilot.
Upstream of the feed
Social platforms are often where antisemitic narratives become visible. But many of the sources that create, preserve and feed those narratives sit on the open web: websites, blogs, newsletters and other public sources with durable addresses that can be searched, linked, translated and repeatedly amplified.
A social post may disappear within hours. A webpage can remain discoverable for years, continuing to supply language, images and claims long after the original moment has passed. Understanding the information environment therefore requires looking beyond the feed to the sources that sustain it.
Civic Shield begins upstream — where durable sources can be documented before their downstream effects are lost.
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Evidence should preserve harmful material without becoming another channel for its distribution.
From content to defensible evidence
The system is being designed to create records, not alerts: source address, capture time, the page as served, relevant text within images, original language and translation, together with provenance controls intended to make later alteration detectable and handling traceable.
The intended output describes evidence, not identities. It should say: this content, at this source, at this time, appears to meet a stated definition or rule — and show the basis for that assessment.
The problem is not a shortage of data
Online antisemitism is not primarily a shortage-of-data problem. Enormous amounts of content are already visible. The harder problem is turning fragmented information into something credible, contextual, comparable and actionable. That requires more than another classifier. It requires infrastructure.
Most responses to online hate begin after harmful material has already surfaced. The question Civic Shield is built around connects several disciplines that too often operate separately: technology, research, trust and safety, law, policy and institutional action.
What would the infrastructure look like if evidence, provenance and accountability were designed in from the beginning?
One area of development is platform accountability — a more systematic way to understand how documented concerns are handled once they are reported.
The boundaries are part of the architecture
In a sensitive domain, credibility depends not only on what a system can do, but on the limits it is designed to respect.
- We do not name or publicly label individuals as antisemitic.
- We do not build profiles of individuals.
- We do not reproduce harmful content. Documentation should preserve evidence without becoming another channel for its distribution.
- We do not read private messages, and we do not enter closed spaces.
- We do not organise reporting swarms or automated pressure campaigns.
- We do not publish blacklists.
- We do not classify political positions as antisemitic simply because they concern Israel or Zionism. Criticism of Israel, Israeli governments or their policies — and support for, criticism of, or opposition to Zionism — is not, by itself, treated as antisemitic. Assessment depends on content and context under Civic Shield’s published framework.
- An automated system does not independently send notices, complaints, legal filings or other external escalations. Any such action requires human review and approval.
- Where collection is automated, it is read-only. It does not post, reply, engage or mass-report.
These boundaries are intended to be operational commitments, not general statements of principle. As Civic Shield moves toward a controlled pilot, they will be reflected in system design, review procedures and governance so that compliance can be examined and, where appropriate, audited. The method and the limits
Public sources. Deliberate boundaries.
Civic Shield’s approach is centred on publicly accessible information and data minimisation. Collection and analysis are designed around a single principle: the pursuit of accountability should not require creating another surveillance system.
Built by a multidisciplinary founding team
Civic Shield is currently founder-led. At this stage, the team’s experience, judgment and willingness to subject the model to scrutiny are central to the project.
- Boaz Benrush Founder and Executive Director
- Oren Bar-Nir Co-Founder and Director of Finance and Operations
- Uriel (Ari) Naor Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer
- Itamar Raz Founder and Director of Research
- Maya Beer Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer
Professional backgrounds and current responsibilities are set out on the team page.
Help shape what comes next.
We are speaking with a small number of institutions, researchers, philanthropic partners and practitioners interested in the intersection of antisemitism, technology, evidence and accountability. If that is your field, we would like to hear from you. Write to info@civicshieldai.org.
Civic Shield is not currently accepting public donations. For institutional support, partnerships or collaboration, please contact us directly.