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Ahead of Knesset elections, Israel must enforce rules to combat AI disinformation - editorial

As Israel enters its first election since the October 7 massacre, a Likud campaign video using AI-generated imagery has sparked controversy for appearing to depict the late son of Gadi Eisenkot. The incident has sharpened focus on new regulations for digital campaign material and broader concerns about synthetic media and foreign influence.

By Tertius News AI Desk 1 outlet · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Jul 23–31, 2026 Published Aug 14

Lead

Israel’s election campaign has opened with a controversy over an AI-generated video released by the Likud party, prompting debate over the role of synthetic media in the country’s first election since the October 7 Hamas massacre. The video, reported by The Jerusalem Post, depicted former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot turning away from a figure wearing an “Israeli unity” shirt and embracing Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas. Critics said the figure resembled Eisenkot’s son Gal, who was killed fighting in Gaza in December 2023. Likud denied that the resemblance was intentional and later released a revised version that replaced the figure with a woman.

Coverage Comparison

The Jerusalem Post covered the story in two editorials. The first, published July 31, focused on the regulatory and societal implications of the video, framing it as a warning about the dangers of AI-generated disinformation. The second, published July 23, provided a more detailed narrative of the video’s content and its timing during the Tisha B’Av holiday, emphasizing the ethical dimension of using a bereaved father’s grief as political ammunition. Both pieces agree on the core facts: the video’s depiction, the criticism it drew, Likud’s denial, and the replacement of the figure. They also share a critical tone, though the earlier piece leans more toward reflection while the later piece is more cautionary, focusing on the need for regulation.

Key Claims

The Likud campaign video showed an AI-generated image of Gadi Eisenkot turning away from a figure in an “Israeli unity” shirt and embracing Mansour Abbas. The figure was said to resemble Eisenkot’s son Gal, killed in Gaza in December 2023. This claim appeared in both Jerusalem Post editorials.
Likud denied that the resemblance was intentional and released a revised version replacing the figure with a woman. This was reported by The Jerusalem Post.
The October 27 election is the first since the October 7 Hamas massacre, a context highlighted in both pieces.
The Central Elections Committee, under chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg, has issued temporary regulations requiring labels on campaign material that has been digitally created or substantially altered. Disclosures must be prominent, with labels visible throughout video footage and audio warnings at the beginning and end. Failure to disclose may be considered a violation of the law, according to The Jerusalem Post.
President Isaac Herzog has warned that hostile actors inside and outside Israel are seeking to undermine the election and deepen internal divisions, as reported by The Jerusalem Post.
A State Comptroller’s Office report, cited by The Jerusalem Post, found that as of March 2026 Israel lacked a comprehensive national policy and a designated authority to coordinate the response to foreign digital influence campaigns.
Senior Israeli security officials told The Jerusalem Post that Turkey is attempting to influence the election through social-media activity. This claim carried a medium confidence rating in the provided material and was not corroborated by an independent source.

Perspectives

Likud Party

Likud denied that the figure in the video was meant to represent Gal Eisenkot, calling the resemblance unintentional, and revised the video to replace the figure with a woman.

Critics

Critics, including the Jerusalem Post editorial board, argued that the video was a cruel and reckless use of a bereaved father’s grief for political purposes, regardless of intent.

Central Elections Committee

The committee, led by Justice Noam Sohlberg, has issued temporary regulations requiring labels on digitally created or altered campaign material, aiming to help voters identify synthetic content.

President Isaac Herzog

Herzog has warned of hostile actors attempting to undermine the election and deepen divisions, underscoring concerns about foreign influence.

State Comptroller’s Office

A report found that Israel lacks a comprehensive national policy and a designated authority to coordinate responses to foreign digital influence campaigns, indicating a gap in preparedness.

Israeli Security Officials

Senior security officials reportedly believe Turkey is attempting to influence the election through social-media activity, a claim not yet independently confirmed.

How this outlet told it

Jerusalem Post as of Jul 23, 2026, 3:15 AM UTC

Framing: Criticism of Likud's campaign tactics — Critical and reflective

Facts Included:

Likud campaign video depicted Gadi Eisenkot turning away from a figure wearing an 'Israeli unity' shirt and embracing Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas
The figure resembled Eisenkot's son Gal, killed in Gaza in December 2023
Likud denied that the resemblance was intentional
A revised version replaced the figure with a woman
The election campaign is the first since the October 7 Hamas massacre

Read the source article →

Jerusalem Post as of Jul 31, 2026, 3:30 AM UTC

Framing: The dangers of synthetic media in the election — Cautionary and advisory

Facts Included:

The Central Elections Committee's temporary regulations on labeling digitally created campaign material
The role of social media companies in responding to synthetic media
Foreign influence operations and their potential impact on the election
The need for a coordinated national mechanism to identify and respond to foreign influence operations

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimA Likud campaign video depicted Gadi Eisenkot turning away from a figure wearing an 'Israeli unity' shirt and embracing Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas. The figure resembled Eisenkot's son Gal, killed in Gaza in December 2023.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Jerusalem Post as of Jul 23, 2026, 3:15 AM UTC
ClaimLikud denied that the resemblance was intentional, and a revised version replaced the figure with a woman.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Jerusalem Post as of Jul 23, 2026, 3:15 AM UTC
ClaimThe election campaign is the first since the October 7 Hamas massacre.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Jerusalem Post as of Jul 23, 2026, 3:15 AM UTC
ClaimThe Central Elections Committee has issued temporary regulations requiring labels on campaign material that has been digitally created or substantially altered.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Jerusalem Post as of Jul 31, 2026, 3:30 AM UTC
ClaimPresident Isaac Herzog has warned that hostile actors inside and outside Israel are seeking to undermine the election and deepen the country's internal divisions.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Jerusalem Post as of Jul 31, 2026, 3:30 AM UTC
ClaimA State Comptroller's Office report found that, as of March 2026, Israel lacked a comprehensive national policy and a designated authority to coordinate the response to foreign digital influence campaigns.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Jerusalem Post as of Jul 31, 2026, 3:30 AM UTC
ClaimSenior Israeli security officials have told The Jerusalem Post that Turkey is attempting to influence the election through social-media activity.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via Jerusalem Post as of Jul 31, 2026, 3:30 AM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

1 outlet · 2 articles consulted: Jerusalem Post 7 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-14