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Fake Iranian accounts ‘campaigned for Netanyahu’ ahead of Israeli election
A network of 1,653 X accounts posing as Iranian users promoted Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party before Israel’s election, according to research reported by Haaretz. The coordinated activity matters because it may have breached rules requiring transparency in election advertising, though investigators have not identified who operated the accounts.
The accounts posted in Hebrew and English urging Israelis to vote for Netanyahu, with activity intensifying on election day. Two accounts published 109 identical posts, compared with four expected through organic activity, and replied in close succession to 232 posts by 53 accounts. About 1,600 accounts had previously promoted Reza Pahlavi; an Israeli elections committee judge said the activity appeared to violate the law but could not rule definitively without knowing who was behind it, and referred the evidence to police. Netanyahu’s office and Likud denied links to the accounts.
In short
- 1,653 accounts posing as Iranians promoted Netanyahu before Israel’s election.
- Around 1,600 had previously promoted Reza Pahlavi.
- A judge referred evidence to police but could not identify the operators.
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The case for
The apparent coordination and false claims of Iranian identity could have misled voters about who was promoting Netanyahu, while evading transparency rules meant to let the public assess election advocacy. Referring the evidence for investigation is justified because foreign or undisclosed influence can undermine confidence in a fair election, even before the operators are identified.
The case against
The accounts’ activity does not establish who controlled them or whether Netanyahu, Likud, or any Israeli actor directed it; both have denied links. Treating the campaign as attributable to them before an investigation would risk unfairly assigning responsibility, and the judge could not reach a definitive legal conclusion without knowing who was behind the accounts.
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