AI-made Israeli campaign videos attacking Gadi Eisenkot draw backlash

In short: AI-generated campaign videos targeting Israeli politician Gadi Eisenkot are drawing criticism for anti-Arab messaging and for imagery many saw as exploiting personal loss.

What's going on

Several Israeli campaign videos made with AI, meaning computer-generated images that can look like real footage, have targeted opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot. The videos have been criticized for trying to stir fear and hostility toward Arab political parties.

One widely shared Likud video, posted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, showed Eisenkot running through a field of flowers toward a young man wearing a shirt that said “Israeli unity.” At the last moment, Eisenkot turns away and hugs Mansour Abbas, the Arab-Israeli leader of the Ra’am party. The video then claims Eisenkot “has no government without” Arab parties.

Many viewers argued the young man was meant to remind people of Eisenkot’s son, Gal, who was killed in the Gaza war in December 2023. They pointed to the young man’s age and the dreamlike “field of flowers” setting, which some interpreted as an afterlife scene (like a symbolic picture of heaven). Likud denied the character was meant to represent Gal, but Netanyahu’s team changed the video the same day, replacing the young man with a young woman.

Other AI-made clips have also tried to tie Eisenkot to Arab politicians, including a Likud post linking him to lawmaker Ahmad Tibi. Another video shared by Religious Zionism leader Bezalel Smotrich used AI imagery suggesting meetings and alliances that Eisenkot’s party says never happened, and the party has asked Israel’s elections committee to remove it.

What to watch

Israel is now debating how political campaigns should label AI-made content, especially when it looks like real documentation. Complaints to election authorities could shape what parties can post next.

Source: NYTimes