Israel Elections: Shin Bet Removes Fake Accounts Linked to Foreign Influence

Israel's Shin Bet security agency announced Thursday that it had identified and removed several fake social media accounts used in foreign influence operations aimed at interfering in Israel's elections.

The operation was carried out in cooperation with the Cyber Department of the State Attorney's Office and the Central Elections Committee, as part of efforts to prevent foreign actors from manipulating public opinion and influencing the electoral process through social media.

Meanwhile, TikTok recently published a quarterly transparency report detailing its enforcement activities in Israel ahead of the elections. The report includes information on influence operations originating in Iran, as well as measures taken against misleading AI-generated content and accounts impersonating public officials. The findings were also shared with the Central Elections Committee as part of ongoing cooperation between the authorities and the platform.

According to TikTok, between June 7 and September 5, the platform removed 45,311 videos in Israel for violating policies related to election integrity, misinformation, and potentially harmful AI-generated content. These videos accounted for approximately 9% of all content removed from the platform in Israel during that period.

The company also reported that more than 99.7% of the videos violating these policies were removed before users reported them. In addition, TikTok removed 1,431 accounts impersonating Israeli election candidates and public officials.

The Shin Bet emphasized that its efforts to prevent foreign election interference will continue beyond the removal of the accounts already identified. Cooperation between the security agency, legal authorities, and election officials will remain in place throughout the election campaign.

"Together with all the relevant bodies, we will continue to act to thwart attempts at foreign influence and protect the democratic process and the integrity of the elections," the Shin Bet said.