How “America First” Got Played by Iranian Propaganda on Anti-Boycott Bill H.R. 867
A one-page bill clarifying U.S. anti-boycott policy was twisted into a censorship scare—by Iranian state media, Hamas-linked outlets, CAIR, and credulous American politicians
HR 867 is one page long bill, yet somehow, a small amendment to U.S. anti-boycott law became the center of a manufactured foreign propaganda campaign, sparking outrage over imaginary jail time for Americans who wish to boycott Israel. The reality? The bill doesn’t criminalize anything, doesn’t restrict individual speech, and doesn’t impose penalties of any kind.
So what does it do? It updates 2018 U.S. anti-boycott laws—which already prohibit Americans from complying with foreign-government-sponsored boycotts of Israel—to also apply to intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) like the United Nations and European Union. The message: foreign governments and institutions can’t coerce U.S. companies into participating in anti-Israel boycotts.
How “America First” Got Played by Iranian Propaganda on HR 867
The disinformation campaign seems to began with PressTV, the Iranian state-controlled propaganda outlet, which published an article on May 2nd which falsely claimed the bill would "punish Americans for boycotting Israel with prison and million dollar files." The framing was intentionally inflammatory and entirely false.
Lara Friedman, head of the Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP) repeated the same misleading narrative a few hours later, lending it credibility in progressive and policy circles.
From there, the narrative moved to Drop Site, a fringe publication tied to individuals with known connections to Hamas who retweeted Lara Friedman’s post. The Drop Site amplified the lie that HR 867 would restrict free speech and criminalize dissent—knowing full well that American audiences, especially in activist and fringe-right spaces, would take the bait.
Next came the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), an organization with documented historical ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas-affiliated networks. CAIR launched a full-blown campaign to pressure lawmakers into voting against HR 867. CAIR organized outreach to Congress, mobilized followers, and flooded social media with disinformation.
Rather than verify the bill’s text, several “America First” Republicans joined the outrage mob. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Thomas Massie, and Anna Paulina Luna all announced their opposition to HR 867—citing the exact same false claims promoted by Iranian state media, Hamas-linked journalists, and CAIR.
Conservative influencers like Charlie Kirk joined the pile-on, amplifying the disinfo without examining the legislation. He, like many others, opted for outrage over research.
For a movement supposedly devoted to fighting foreign influence and standing against radical Islamist networks, the irony is inescapable. Kirk, MTG, Massie, and others uncritically parroted Iranian, Hamas-linked, and Muslim Brotherhood narratives to millions of people. All over a one-page bill. They could have read the bill in five minutes. Instead, they echoed foreign propaganda.
The Real Problem: Credibility in Freefall. When U.S. representatives and leading influencers are so easily manipulated by hostile foreign propaganda—from Iran, Hamas affiliates, and Muslim Brotherhood-linked groups like CAIR—we don’t just have a political problem. We have a national security vulnerability.
U.S. law should not be shaped by lies from America’s adversaries. Oppose the Bill If You Want—But Don’t Lie. Read the bill! It’s one page!. That’s the job.
It should be “with whom Americans can do business”. Use of whom can get tricky.
American law has long looked down on secondary boycotts. The only organization allowed to lead a boycott which has legal consequences is the Federal Government. That is a primary boycott and obeying it is a legal responsibility. A primary boycott against the UAE is certainly a possibility because Qatar is up to its eyebrows with the Muslim Brotherhood and the HAMAS. Al Jazeera, which is a Qatari organization, has been caught misrepresenting terrorist-shot video as its own.