‘Integrity of next elections is in danger’: Israel prepares to combat threat of AI disinformation, foreign propaganda

With Israel’s next elections set to take place on Oct. 26, 2026, at the latest but likely to occur even earlier, the Central Elections Committee will hold a discussion on how to safeguard the elections in the age of AI and online influence campaigns.

Speaking at the Tel Aviv Cyber Week on Tuesday, State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman warned that Israel faces intensified threats during an election year.

“Foreign influence can disrupt the democratic process – creating chaos on election day, undermining public trust in the system, manipulating voter behavior, distorting results and deepening social divisions,” he said.

“The integrity of the elections is in danger,” Englman warned, adding that Iran’s cyber attacks and attempts to pay Israelis for espionage particularly highlighted the need for rapid improvements in this field.

The State Comptroller’s Office is already probing the government’s efforts to combat foreign interference in the digital sphere, and early findings showed “significant shortcomings,” said Englman.

Earlier this week, the Israeli disinformation watchdog FakeReporter warned that foreign-controlled social media “sleeper cells” seek to influence Israel’s upcoming election, specifically addressing the threat of hostile countries such as Iran using AI-powered influence networks of “sleeper cells” designed to mimic real accounts, to influence Israeli voters.

The Central Elections Committee’s upcoming meeting came after a formal request by Knesset lawmaker Eitan Ginzburg of the National Unity party, who urged the adoption of a series of protective measures ahead of the next elections, according to Ynet News.

“There is currently no regulation addressing AI in political campaigning,” Ginzburg warned.

He proposed legislation to require labeling of AI-created content and to disclose targeting of voters and personalized messaging by AI.

Ginzburg also proposed appointing a specialized AI adviser to the election committee and establishing an advisory panel to review election laws in light of the new threats.

“We’ve entered a new era in digital and AI technology,” Ginzburg said. “The challenges to safeguarding election integrity in this reality – especially when foreign entities seek to sway Israeli public opinion – demand special preparation and strategic responses.”

The election committee will focus on reviewing existing regulations of election ads and campaigns, while trying to tackle the new challenge of AI-driven political campaigns, which will be central to Israeli elections for the first time next year.

Israel is among the nations with the largest percentage of the population using AI, Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler, head of the Democracy in the Digital Age program at the Israel Democracy Institute, told the Jewish Insider.

A study by the Israeli Internet Association published in October showed that  76% of Israelis use ChatGPT “frequently.”

“AI chatbots have significant penetration in the public,” Shwartz Altshuler said, highlighting several areas of concern where AI could be used to influence voters.

Chatbots “will be used to ask whether to vote and for whom to vote. We have not seen anything like this before,” she warned.

“People use chatbots as a companion for emotional support. The concern over the great influence of chatbots on voter behavior is significant.”

This is the first time we have an election in which we are unable to differentiate between authentic and machine-generated photos and videos,” Shwartz Altshuler said.

“There is a fear that the perception of reality is being undermined. People can forge documents and make deepfakes of politicians… Machine-generated content can create an alternative reality, a very dangerous prospect when the content is very emotionally attractive.”