Netanyahu Leading Campaign of Terror on “Israelis” - Gantz

By Staff, Agencies

‘Israeli’ Blue and White leader Benny Gantz lashed out at Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, following a joint Yedioth Ahronoth-New York Times report on a network of fake social media accounts dedicated to promoting Netanyahu and his Likud party ahead of the April 9 elections.

"Netanyahu is going to lose, Netanyahu is stressed," Gantz said at a press conference in Tel Aviv, flanked by his political partners Gabi Ashkenazi, Yair Lapid and Moshe Ya'alon.

"The report published this morning reveals that Netanyahu is leading campaign of terror on the consciousness of the citizens of ‘Israel’."

According to research by internet watchdog Big Bots Project, a covert and complex army of fake social media accounts has been disseminating posts in support of Netanyahu and his Likud party ahead of the elections.

The watchdog found that this network has posted more than 130,000 times in Hebrew on Facebook and Twitter - posts that have had 2.5 million hits in the occupied territories. These posts have the sole purpose of praising Netanyahu and spreading false information about his rivals, primarily Gantz.

The report does not identify a direct link between the network and the Likud or any of its staff. It says, however, that the network's activity raises suspicions of serious criminal offenses, including violations of the Election Law, campaign financing, privacy laws, income tax and more.