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social media in Israel

An Israeli soldier takes a photograph with his mobile phone during clashes with Palestinian demonstrators in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, October 13, 2015. (AP Photo/Nasser Shiyoukhi)
May 18, 2026, 3:15 pm
IDF struggles to throttle endless feed of soldiers posting misdeeds on social media
Troops keep recording their own misconduct, including smashing a statue of Jesus in Lebanon, but the army claims progress in curbing posts that fuel international criticism and risk operational security
By Stav Levaton
Illustrative: A police car in Herzliya, August 15, 2025. (Tal Gal/Flash90)
January 16, 2026, 1:10 pm
Woman in northern Israel indicted for aiding Hamas disinformation network
Shin Bet and police say 51-year-old Rania Dandan from Kiryat Motzkin helped terrorist group spread ‘false information’ through fictitious social media profiles
By Stav Levaton
Illustrative: People look at electronic devices while relaxing in Tel Aviv on June 4, 2025. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90)
October 18, 2025, 8:22 am
AI tools supercharge foreign influence campaigns targeting Israelis on social media
Mimicking popular Facebook groups, a shadowy network used AI-generated content to target voters — revealing the country’s growing vulnerability to digital manipulation
By Stav Levaton
Shachar Levy, known as DawnLev on social media. (Courtesy)
February 29, 2024, 9:03 am
The social media star who uses snark to fight Israel’s war of information
Irreverent entertainer Shachar Levy — aka DawnLev — uses her platform to create viral pro-Israel content that encourages viewers to think critically about the Israel-Hamas war
By Maya Zanger-Nadis
From left to right, high school seniors Yuval Meller, Inbar Carmi and Maayan Shalom, at Tichon Hamoshava high school in Zichron Yaakov, on January 16, 2024. (Gavriel Fiske/Times of Israel)
January 24, 2024, 8:36 am
‘Ready to do whatever it takes’: 12th-graders find a protective bubble popped by war
Four teenagers set to graduate from a Zichron Yaakov high school join a roundtable discussion with ToI to discuss Gaza, the IDF, antisemitism and what comes next for them
By Gavriel Fiske
Illustrative: A soldier from the IDF's Military Intelligence Directorate works at a computer. (Israel Defense Forces)
March 22, 2023, 12:31 pm
IDF admits psychological warfare attempt targeting Israeli citizens
Opening fake social media accounts and leveraging existing ones, IDF Spokesperson’s Unit sought to foster public positivity toward 2021 Gaza operation; IDF acknowledges ‘error’
By Ash Obel
Chief of Police Kobi Shabtai seen during a visit in the southern city of Ashkelon, May 18, 2021. (Flash90)
September 21, 2022, 2:02 pm
Israel Police chief calls for ‘shutting down’ social media during civil unrest
‘This is already war’: Commissioner says online platforms drove citizens out onto the streets during the May 2021 Arab-Jewish riots
By Jeremy Sharon
Jews walk through the street with guns in the mixed Arab-Jewish town of Lod, central Israel, May 28, 2021, in the wake of recent clashes between the two groups. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
February 3, 2022, 11:57 am
Iran set up fake social media network to stoke violence, tensions in Israel – report
‘Aduk’ group, masquerading as a nationalist and ultra-Orthodox news outlet, redistributed extremist and anti-Muslim material to encourage attacks on Arab Israelis, BBC says
By ToI Staff
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett meets with actress and social media influencer Shira Levi in Tel Aviv on August 5, 2021. (Haim Zach / GPO)
February 2, 2022, 6:47 pm
Mandelblit says elected officials cannot block citizens on social media
Opinion submitted by outgoing AG states that principles of freedom of expression apply when an elected official uses a private profile in the context of his public office
By ToI Staff
A Facebook App logo displayed on a smartphone in Los Angeles, March 1, 2021. (Chris Delmas/AFP/File)
December 31, 2021, 9:11 am
Palestinians accuse Facebook of suppressing their content without justification
The social media giant rejects the claims, saying it removes posts that violate its standards
By AFP and ToI Staff
In this file photo from March 13, 2019, Facebook, Messenger and Instagram apps are displayed on an iPhone in New York. (AP/Jenny Kane)
December 28, 2021, 9:20 am
Minister floats Hebrew service centers for social networks to explain post deletions
Communications minister’s reported initiative comes as government advances controversial bid to enable censorship of posts deemed ‘incitement’
By ToI Staff
Justice Minister Gideon Sa'ar speaks during a plenum session in the Knesset on December 15, 2021. (Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90)
December 27, 2021, 1:50 pm
Ministers advance online censorship bill, drawing Netanyahu’s ire
Legislation pushed by justice minister would give authorities more power to have social media posts removed if they are deemed ‘incitement’
By ToI Staff
A car is set on fire during clashes between Arab and Jews in Acre, northern Israel, May 12, 2021 (Roni Ofer/Flash90)
May 30, 2021, 11:43 am
Netanyahu sought social media blackout during Jewish-Arab unrest — reports
PM said to have suggested move twice, pushed plan to block access to TikTok during major riots in mixed cities earlier this month; legal officials blocked proposal
By ToI Staff
Suspected fake media accounts by foreign actors impersonating Israelis that were called out by Israel's Fake Reporter organization (Courtesy)
May 25, 2021, 10:17 pm
With Israel and Hamas @war, algorithms and fake accounts fueled #hatred online
Researchers expose fake accounts and extreme content that fanned the flames of outrage, fear and hatred in Israel and abroad
By Simona Weinglass
Former Blue and White MK Michal Cotler-Wunsh (Avishai Finkelstein)
November 12, 2020, 5:59 pm
How anti-Semitism and hate on social media is a chance to educate
Canada-raised perennial optimist MK Michal Cotler-Wunsh explains in an exclusive Behind the Headlines interview that the pandemic is a chance to make long-awaited changes
By Haviv Rettig Gur
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