The topic of 'Twitter Bots' has been a recent social media trending topic thanks to the saga over a buyout of the social network by Elon Musk. During the due diligence phase of the process, Musk put a spotlight on an issue that affects everything from digital marketing to politics and election integrity. Israeli politicians tend to avoid these topics, and it has not been a big deal within the country, but it seems that may no longer be possible.
On Monday, the Yesh Atid party appealed to an Israeli judge, Gali Beharev Miara, demanding that a quick criminal investigation be launched into the connection between these bots and former Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who is already mired in legal problems over suspected corruption. These allegations can be interpreted as a violation of Israeli election regulations. Given the frequency of those elections in recent years, the impact it has in determining the outcome of those elections is significant.
ืดืืชืืืชืืด , ืดืฆืขืืจื ืืฉ ืขืชืืืด, ืดืืืื ืช ืจืขืืด, ืดืจืฉืช ืืืืืืดโฆ
โ Zafrir.Ron (@Zafrir_Ron_) August 16, 2022
ืืคืื ืื ืื ืืืืื ืืกืชื, ืฉืื ืื, ืฉืงืจืืโฆ ืืืื ืืืกืคื ืืืืกืื ืฉืื ื. ืฉืืืืช ืืืืก ืขื ืกืืจืืืืืื โฆ pic.twitter.com/UAIlm0hISH
The Israeli organization โFake Reporterโ published information on its Twitter account showing the existence of a network of Twitter accounts, all of which were established at the same time, just after the announcement of an election campaign. According to the report, the network of accounts posts positive Likud-party news with a specific focus on Netanyahu's talking points.
Following the publication, the Yesh Atid party appealed to the legal adviser to the government through attorney Oded Gazit, with a request to direct the relevant investigative authorities to conduct a thorough investigation using the report as a base.
According to Yesh Atid, the request was made to prevent other parties who see the lack of oversight over elections as a โgreen lightโ to use bots themselves.
everything this guy @netanyahu does on social media is part of his campaign - not to win election - but to distract #Israel voters from the fact that he's currently on trial for 3 CRIMINAL INDICTMENTS.
โ ken toltz - ๐ฎ๐ฑ (@KToltz) July 6, 2022
#IsraElex22 https://t.co/HAFwIvMHlt
The Yesh Atid party released a statement on the matter: "We have contacted the legal adviser to the government so that she opens an investigation and checks into who is behind the bots that promote Netanyahu's people. We cannot allow the poison machine to do as it pleases and play with the minds of the Israelis."
Bot and spam accounts on Twitter have become a central issue in the legal fight over whether Elon Musk must complete his $44 billion acquisition of the social media company Twitter. Musk and Twitter are in the process of preparing for a trial scheduled to begin on October 17th in The Delaware Chancery Court, a venue that itself is under scrutiny for cronyism. Twitter and Musk have issued subpoenas to banks and advisers seeking further evidence for their legal points.
How a network of bots on Twitter and fictitious Facebook accounts boosted a candidate in the Likud primaryhttps://t.co/JoqEGKnJYY
โ Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) August 2, 2022
Israeli elections are often fraught with claims of illegal electioneering and violations by many parties. However, the introduction of an investigation into social media practices of various parties is a new development that is certain to expose other tactics, from unsolicited text messages to email privacy violations which are not covered under the current, outdated election laws that have not evolved with technology.
