Ultra-Orthodox social media influencers have apparently been paid by the Prime Minister’s Office to make videos suggesting recipes for the community, Channel 12 reported.

According to the Tuesday report, the influencers may have been paid thousands of shekels to make the clips, though the network did not offer further details.

In the videos, posted to Instagram, influencers explained to the ultra-Orthodox community recipes and ideas in preparation for the Tisha B’Av fast, a 25-hour fast observed by Jews that begins at sundown on Wednesday. The fast commemorates the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE.

Recipes included ideas for fish meals and quinoa salad. Text accompanying the posts included a caption: “In cooperation with the Haredi Authority in the Prime Minister’s Office.” According to the report, at least two influencers posted clips with the caption.

The Authority for the Social and Economic Development of the Ultra-Orthodox Sector is a government body, according to an official explanation, “to lead a process of economic and cultural development in the sector, while coordinating and organizing all government, local and social........

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