5WPR

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5W Public Relations

Trade name 5WPR; 5W
Type Limited liability company (New York)
Founded 4 December 2002 (articles of organisation); trading from 2003
Founder(s) Ronn Torossian
Headquarters 3 Park Avenue, New York, United States
Industry Public relations
Services Public relations, crisis communications, public affairs, digital marketing
Revenue US$28 million (2017, company claim)
Number of employees 275 (March 2022, company claim)
Homepage 5wpr.com

5W Public Relations (5WPR, now styled 5W) is a New York public relations firm founded by Ronn Torossian, a former Betar activist. Its early client list mixed hip-hop stars and corporate brands with right-wing Israeli politicians, Zionist groups and evangelical preachers.[1][2] The firm's first registration as a foreign agent, in 2003, was for work on behalf of Israel's Ministry of Tourism.[3] In 2008 the firm admitted that its staff had posted fake comments online, some impersonating critics of its client Agriprocessors. The deception had been exposed by the blogger Shmarya Rosenberg of Failed Messiah.[4] Torossian stepped down as chief executive in March 2022. That followed reports that he had secretly owned an industry news site, Everything-PR, and had used it to attack rival firms. He remained chairman.[5]

History

Founding

Torossian filed articles of organisation for 5W Public Relations, LLC under New York's Limited Liability Company Law on 4 December 2002. He was named as the sole organiser, and the company was to be run by one or more managers.[6] Before setting up the firm he had worked at the PR company MWW.[2] In 2004 The Forward reported that he had launched the firm 14 months earlier with one worker, himself, and now had 25 employees in midtown Manhattan. Torossian said corporate clients made up about 85% of the business.[1] In his 2022 letter to staff he dated the firm's start to December 2002, when he was 28.[5]

Torossian's political background

Torossian was born in 1974 and raised Jewish by a single mother in the Bronx. As a boy he came under the influence of Rabbi Avi Weiss, and as a student at the State University of New York at Albany he was national president of Betar, the Zionist youth movement linked to Likud. In 1994 he and Weiss were arrested and briefly detained in Oslo after protesting against the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Yasser Arafat.[1][2] After college he moved to Israel. There he co-founded a group called Yerushalayim Shelanu ("Our Jerusalem"), which, The Forward reported, "worked to push Israeli Arabs out of Jerusalem".[7] Its boldest stunt was to lead bulldozers onto land at Har Homa, in occupied East Jerusalem, "to reclaim for Jews a disputed plot of land in a Palestinian area". Torossian told the paper in 2004: "The PLO or P.A., or whatever the gangsters call themselves today, have no place in Jerusalem."[1]

In 2008 Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic reported that Torossian had told him: "I think we should kill a hundred Arabs or a thousand Arabs for every one Jew they kill". Goldberg described this as "a Nazi idea".[2][7] Torossian became close to Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, who told Politico in 2018 that "Ronn Torossian understands the truth of the Arab-Islamic war against Israel and the West better than anyone."[2]

Leadership changes

In December 2021 the New York mayor-elect Eric Adams cancelled ten fundraisers, including one Torossian was due to co-host. This followed a Daily Beast report in which advisers and former staff said they were concerned that the "toxic" Torossian had inserted himself into Adams's inner circle. The Beast listed his clients as including the Turkish president, the chef Paula Deen and the television presenter Chris Cuomo.[8] In February 2022 Crain's New York Business reported that Torossian owned Everything-PR, a trade news site whose "reviews" praised 5WPR and attacked rival firms and executives. He later acknowledged that he owned it.[5] The board of the New York chapter of the Public Relations Society of America called his conduct "a cowardly and blatant violation of PRSA's Code of Ethics" and "a stain on our profession".[5][9]

On 4 March 2022 Torossian told staff that he was stepping down as chief executive: "I have become a distraction and the team deserves the freedom to operate in a context free of noise - noise I personally created." He stayed on as founder and chairman. The co-presidents, Dara Busch and Matt Caiola, became co-chief executives.[5][9][10] In the same letter he said the firm employed 275 people, had no debt and had "zero interest in selling".[5] As of 2026 the firm brands itself "5W, the AI Communications Firm", and its website lists Torossian as founder and chairman.[11]

Foreign agent registrations

5W Public Relations has filed under the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) four times:[12]

Registration Dates Foreign principal
5561 19 May 2003 – 30 November 2004 Israeli Ministry of Tourism, through Geoffrey Weill Associates[3]
6109 13 June 2012 – 8 September 2012 Travel Alberta, a Canadian provincial tourism agency[13]
6434 25 May 2017 – 29 October 2017 Republic of Turkey, through Amsterdam & Partners LLP[6]
7118 12 May 2022 – 1 June 2025 Dominican Republic Ministry of Tourism (Jennifer Elias Franjul), Seoul tourism, and others[14][15]

Israeli Ministry of Tourism (2003–2004)

The 2003 filing states that 5WPR was hired by Geoffrey Weill Associates, the Israeli Ministry of Tourism's existing PR agency, for $7,500 a month. The work covered three areas:

  • encouraging Christian tourism to Israel
  • arranging media appearances for the tourism minister
  • arranging meetings on Capitol Hill to have the State Department's travel warning on Israel lifted.

[3] The tourism minister at the time was Binyamin Elon of the far-right National Union party. The Forward reported in 2004 that Torossian oversaw Elon's American touring.[1]

Turkey (2017)

In May 2017 the firm registered as a subcontractor to the law firm Amsterdam & Partners for work on behalf of the Republic of Turkey, declaring that it involved political activity. The deal added $10,000 a month from 16 May to 15 November 2017, under a contract that dated from 10 August 2016.[6] Politico reported that the work angered many Armenian Americans, because Turkey denies the Armenian genocide and Torossian's father is Armenian. Torossian responded: "I am Jewish... I do not and never have considered myself to be Armenian." In 2010 he had helped organise a protest outside the Turkish consulate in New York after the Israeli raid on the Gaza flotilla.[2]

Later registrations

In August 2024 the firm's chief financial officer filed an amendment. It disclosed that 5W had been doing media relations work for the Dominican Republic's Ministry of Tourism without registering it.[14] A June 2024 amendment recorded that the firm had stopped working for the tourism ministry in Seoul.[15]

Clients

Israeli government, Zionist and settler-linked clients

  • Binyamin Elon, Israeli tourism minister (National Union): the firm handled his American tours in 2003–2004.[1]
  • Israeli Ministry of Tourism: registered under FARA, 2003–2004.[3]
  • Zionist Organization of America: the ZOA was a long-standing media client. Its president, Morton Klein, said in 2008 that the ZOA would keep working with the firm after the Agriprocessors affair.[1][16]
  • Aish New York and the American Jewish Congress were also clients in 2008.[16][17]
  • Taglit-Birthright Israel: it hired the firm in 2009. Critics included Rabbi Andy Bachman and the activist Dan Sieradski, who started a petition asking Birthright to drop 5WPR, and Jeffrey Goldberg, who called Torossian the representative of "the hardest right on the Israeli spectrum".[7]
  • Hebron Fund: in November 2009 Torossian sent out the fund's press release for its fundraiser at Citi Field in New York. The fund raises money for the Israeli settlement in Hebron, in the occupied West Bank. The release quoted the fund's Yossi Baumol attacking US policy on settlement in the "so-called 'West Bank'".[18]
  • The Christian Coalition of America was a client in 2004.[1]

Kosher food and Orthodox clients

  • Agriprocessors, the kosher meat company owned by the Rubashkin family in Postville, Iowa. 5WPR began representing it in June 2008, after the federal immigration raid on its plant in May.[16] See below.
  • In his 2011 book For Immediate Release, Torossian held up Chabad's website, Chabad.org, as a model for organisations.[19]

Other governments and political clients

Corporate and celebrity clients

These clients are named in news reports:

Agriprocessors "sock puppet" affair

In July 2008 Shmarya Rosenberg published evidence on Failed Messiah that comments on his blog had come from 5WPR's computers. Some of the comments were posted in the name of Rabbi Morris Allen, founder of the Conservative movement's ethical kashrut initiative Hekhsher Tzedek and a leading critic of Agriprocessors.[20][21] By Rosenberg's count, more than 40 comments had been left from 5WPR computers over several weeks, and similar comments appeared on other Jewish blogs.[20] JTA traced further comments to the Manhattan home of Juda Engelmayer, the 5WPR executive running the Agriprocessors account.[21][4]

Engelmayer first told Rosenberg by phone that an intern was responsible. Torossian initially told The Forward: "I have complete confidence in knowing that my account team who runs these accounts did not make these posts."[20] On 11 July he issued a statement: "A senior staff member failed to be transparent in dealing with client matters. He has taken full responsibility." He added: "This battle is not about blogging, it is however about protecting the highest levels of Kashrut in the Jewish community." Engelmayer was not dismissed.[4] Hekhsher Tzedek and Allen said they were considering legal action.[4][17] The chairman of the PRSA's ethics board said the practices appeared to be "in opposition to our code of ethics".[16]

A week later Rosenberg reported that the same IP address used for the fake Allen comments, 64.52.47.210, had been used to edit Torossian's Wikipedia entry. The edits removed material about the affair. He named two further suspected accounts.[22] In January 2012 he alleged that Torossian had used false names to post comments attacking Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto and defending Chabad and 5WPR, going back to 2009.[23] In 2010 The New York Times credited Rosenberg with uncovering the "sock puppet" scheme.[24]

Legal cases, investigations and allegations

Criminal matters

No criminal conviction of 5WPR or of Torossian has been reported. In 2017 Torossian testified to the grand jury of the special counsel Robert Mueller. He testified about an approach in 2012 by Paul Manafort and Rick Gates, who allegedly asked him to take money from offshore accounts for undisclosed lobbying for the government of Ukraine. Torossian says he turned the offer down. In a Daily Caller article he nevertheless called Mueller's inquiry a "witch hunt".[2]

Civil cases

  • Melissa Weiss (2008): Torossian sued his former human resources director, Melissa Weiss. She alleged breaches of employment law at the firm. Gawker published an abusive email he had sent her.[2][25]
  • Dror Zoreff (2013): the long-term partner of Torossian's late mother sued him for libel over anonymous online posts, some of which he traced to an IP address linked to Torossian. The case was settled.[2]
  • Former employee (2013): a former employee alleged that Torossian had hired her believing she was Jewish and then mistreated her when he learned she was not. The case was settled in 2015.[2]
  • RonnTorossian.com: Torossian was reported to buy domain names of rival publicists, and of the Gawker journalist Hamilton Nolan. Another publicist then bought RonnTorossian.com and posted an insulting image on it. Torossian sued him for $20 million, and the case was settled without money changing hands.[2]
  • The firm regularly sues clients over unpaid bills.[2]

Regulatory

In August 2009 the New York City labour department visited 5WPR's offices as part of what it called an "ongoing investigation".[7]

Allegations

  • Pinto affair (2011): it was alleged that Torossian and the Israeli businessman Ofer Biton had tried to extort Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto by threatening to expose him in the press unless he hired Torossian. Torossian denied this and was never charged. Pinto, the congressman Michael Grimm and Biton were later jailed on separate charges.[2]
  • Everything-PR (2022): the site carried fake bylines that praised 5WPR and attacked its rivals. Torossian admitted that he owned it (see above).[5]

Torossian's writing

Torossian has been a regular columnist for the settler-aligned Israeli outlet Arutz Sheva (Israel National News). His byline there reads "Ronn Torossian is an active contributor to Arutz 7". In a 2014 column he argued that "the organized American Jewish establishment will get even further away from Israel" because it was "moving further and further away from Judaism", and that Israel would increasingly look to evangelical Christians for support.[26] He has also written on public relations for The Algemeiner and the New York Observer.[27][28]

People

See also

Contact

  • Address: 3 Park Avenue, 19th Floor, New York, NY 10016[14]
  • Website: 5wpr.com

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Nathaniel Popper, "Publicist Scores With Rappers, Right-wing Politicians", The Forward, 2 April 2004.
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 Ben Schreckinger, "Meet the pro-Trump PR guy at the center of the Mueller probe — and everything else", Politico, 30 April 2018.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 5W Public Relations, LLC, Exhibits A and B to Registration Statement (registration no. 5561), Foreign Agents Registration Act filing, US Department of Justice, 19 May 2003.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 "Meat Company's P.R. Firm Acknowledges Responsibility of 'Senior Staff Member' in Online Deception", The Forward, 11 July 2008.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 "Ronn Torossian Departs as 5WPR CEO, But Remains Chairman", PR News, 4 March 2022.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 5W Public Relations, LLC, Exhibits A and B to Registration Statement (registration no. 6434), with articles of organisation, Foreign Agents Registration Act filing, US Department of Justice, 25 May 2017.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Nathaniel Popper, "Birthright Scored for Picking P.R. Firm Tied To Scandal, Hard Right Politics", The Forward, 19 August 2009.
  8. ↑ Corbin Bolies, "NYC Mayor-Elect Cans Fundraisers After Daily Beast Report on ‘Toxic’ PR Exec", The Daily Beast, 11 December 2021.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Sean Czarnecki, "Read the resignation letter of Ronn Torossian, who stepped down as 5WPR CEO after he used a secret news site to bash rivals", Business Insider, 4 March 2022.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Justin Rohrlich, "'Toxic' PR Guru Ronn Torossian Steps Down After Daily Beast Exposé", The Daily Beast, 4 March 2022.
  11. ↑ 5W, "Ronn Torossian, Founder & Chairman", 5wpr.com, accessed 5 November 2026.
  12. ↑ US Department of Justice, "Historical List of All Registrants", FARA eFile, accessed 5 November 2026.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 5W Public Relations, LLC, Supplemental Statement (registration no. 6109), FARA filing, 23 January 2013.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 5W Public Relations, LLC, Amendment to Registration Statement (registration no. 7118), FARA filing, 20 August 2024.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 5W Public Relations, LLC, Amendment to Registration Statement (registration no. 7118), FARA filing, 7 June 2024.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Marissa Brostoff, "Public Relations Firm Criticized", The Forward, 24 July 2008.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 "PR firm's meat plant messages misleading", Star Tribune, July 2008.
  18. ↑ Adam Horowitz, "Hebron Fund begins charm offensive by calling Obama policy racist", Mondoweiss, 19 November 2009.
  19. ↑ "PR Guru Lauds Chabad", COLlive, 3 October 2011.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 "Flacks for Agriprocessors Admit Online Impersonation of Meat Company's Critics", The Forward, July 2008.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "PR firm accused of impersonating rabbi", Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 10 July 2008.
  22. ↑ Shmarya Rosenberg, "BREAKING: 5WPR…", Failed Messiah, July 2008 (Wayback Machine capture, 14 February 2012).
  23. ↑ Shmarya Rosenberg, "5WPR: Once A Sockpuppet, Always A Sockpuppet", Failed Messiah, January 2012 (Wayback Machine capture, 15 February 2012).
  24. ↑ Samuel G. Freedman, "A Muckraking Blogger Focuses on Jews", New York Times, 9 January 2010.
  25. ↑ Hamilton Nolan, "The Story Of Ronn Torossian", Gawker, 2008.
  26. ↑ Ronn Torossian, "American Jewish Commitment to Israel & Judaism", Arutz Sheva, 17 March 2014.
  27. ↑ Ronn Torossian, "PR Firms Ought To Say 'No' Once In a While", Observer, January 2015.
  28. ↑ Ronn Torossian, "Public Relations and the Art of War", The Algemeiner, 7 October 2011.
  29. ↑ Leigh Ann Ambrosi, Short Form Registration Statement (registration no. 7118), FARA filing, 21 July 2025.
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