Netanyahu AI campaign video depicting figure resembling bereaved rival's slain son draws backlash
Netanyahu's Likud party released an AI-generated campaign video depicting a figure that viewers said resembled the slain son of political rival Gadi Eisenkot, drawing condemnation from hostage families, former officials, and the public. The party subsequently released a revised version after the backlash.
What happened
Netanyahu and his Likud party published an AI-generated campaign video on Monday night targeting political rival Gadi Eisenkot, a former IDF chief of staff and leader of the Yashar party.
The video depicts Eisenkot running with open arms toward a young man before changing direction at the last moment to embrace Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas. Many social media users said the young man in the video resembled Eisenkot's son Gal, who was killed fighting in Gaza.
Following backlash, Netanyahu and Likud released a second version of the video.
Reported impact
Multiple public figures, including hostage families and former government officials, condemned the video as disrespectful to a bereaved father. Einav Zangauker, whose son was held hostage by Hamas, wrote that she imagined Gal running toward his father when she first saw Eisenkot with open arms, describing it as hurtful given Netanyahu's leadership during the conflict.
Former Likud minister Limor Livnat criticized Netanyahu for creating content about a rival whose son died in a war Netanyahu managed, while former IDF spokesman Avi Benayahu said the video was humiliating to Netanyahu himself.
Governance controls
The video had no identification of the young man as Gal Eisenkot, yet viewers interpreted the figure as resembling the deceased soldier based on visual similarity.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.