AI-generated videos flood Israel's election, raising misinformation concerns

A 19‑second AI‑generated video of Gadi Eisenkot, a prime‑ministerial hopeful and former IDF chief of staff, was posted on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s X account on Tuesday, showing the candidate sprinting through a meadow and embracing Arab leader Mansour Abbas instead of his own son, who was killed in the 2023 Israel‑Hamas war. The clip, which has been viewed more than a million times, sparked outrage for exploiting anti‑Arab sentiment in a campaign where Netanyahu and Eisenkot are locked in a tight race ahead of the Oct. 27 legislative election.

The video is one of at least 1,800 pieces of AI‑generated content that the Likud party has released since the end of July, according to the Ze Be AI project at the Open University of Israel. Researchers say the election is Israel’s first “AI election,” with parties using deepfakes, synthetic audio, and automated bots to shape public opinion, from controversial ads to mass robocalling. By mid‑October the team had catalogued more than 44,000 social‑media posts across Facebook, Instagram, X and TikTok, finding that over 14 % incorporated AI in some form.

A hybrid approach dominates, where AI augments parts of a campaign piece—adding images, music, subtitles or logos—rather than creating full‑scale deepfakes. Smaller fringe parties have the highest ratio of AI content, but Likud leads in sheer volume, followed by the centrist Democrats and Eisenkot’s Yashar party, which lags far behind. Israel’s Central Elections Committee introduced a rule in July requiring any AI‑generated or manipulated election material to be clearly labeled, yet there is no broader legal framework. “There’s no AI Act, no Digital Services Act, and the privacy law is very outdated,” said Anat Ben‑David, who leads the Ze Be AI research.

Experts warn that a surge of AI‑driven controversy in the final days before the vote could tip the election outcome. With no substantive limits on how AI can be deployed, the risk of misinformation and voter manipulation remains high. Observers say the next step will be tighter enforcement of labeling rules and possibly new legislation to curb the spread of synthetic media, as Israel and other democracies grapple with the implications of AI‑powered campaigning.