Haaretz says anti-Iran bots were repurposed to promote Netanyahu and Likud

Dozens of online bots created to undermine Iran’s government have been redirected toward promoting Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party, Haaretz reported, according to Al Jazeera. The disclosure places an existing influence operation in a different political fight, just before Israel’s October 27 election, with Netanyahu’s bloc and the opposition virtually tied.

The accounts were reportedly spreading campaign propaganda supporting Netanyahu while warning voters against Gadi Eisenkot and former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. Both men are part of the opposition bloc.

Explaining the wider online campaign, Essex University voting-behaviour specialist Roi Zur described a strategy of deepening attachment to one political bloc and hostility toward the other. Political scientists call this affective polarisation. Zur told Al Jazeera that AI, algorithms and data management were being used to reinforce those divisions.

Zur also emphasised turnout. He put typical participation in large secular cities such as Tel Aviv and Haifa at 60%, compared with 80–85% in places with large ultra-Orthodox populations, including Jerusalem and Bnei Brak. He argued that much campaigning seeks to get supporters to vote by invoking fear of the opposing camp.

The account of Haaretz’s findings establishes an allegation of messaging favorable to Netanyahu and Likud; it does not establish that either directed the bots. Nor does the reported shift, on its own, demonstrate that the accounts changed voters’ minds or altered the election’s outcome.