Facebook suspends Netanyahu’s chat bot for the second time in a WEEK

September 17, 2019

Facebook suspends Netanyahu’s chat bot for the second time in a WEEK after it published opinion poll on election day amid claims of high Arab turnout

Facebook has shut down a chat bot on Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s page
Social media giant said bot violated law prohibiting publication of public opinion
Netanyahu later called the step ‘disproportional’ and ‘unjust’ in social media clip
It comes as voter turnout was significantly higher than that of previous elections

Facebook has suspended Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chat bot for the second time in a week after it violated election day rules.

The social media giant suspended the application after it breached a law prohibiting the publication of public opinion polls in the days leading up to an election.

In a video posted to Facebook, Netanyahu called the step ‘disproportional’ and ‘unjust,’ claiming his Likud party was being targeted by the country’s election commission.

A Facebook spokesperson said the bot’s activity was suspended ‘in light of the violation of local law’ until the close of the polls this evening.

‘We’re working with elections officials around the world to help ensure the integrity of the elections,’ the company told the Times of Israel.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has slammed Facebook after it shut down his chat bot for the remainder of the election day (Pictured: Netanyahu and his wife Sarah cast their votes in Jerusalem)

‘Our policy explicitly states that developers are required to obey all laws applicable in the country where their application is accessible. Therefore we’ve suspended the [Netanyahu] bot’s activity, in light of the violation of local law, until the close of the polls’.

The prime minister later lashed out at the social network, claiming it had shut down a way for the Likud party to ‘communicate’ with its supporters.

‘They took a 100kg hammer and brought it down on a fly, because it is a Likud fly,’ he said. ‘They shut down our means of communication with our voters.’

Netanyahu then played down the election day violation, he said: ‘Someone published a small poll on Facebook.’

This is the second time in less than a week that the social media giant has taken action against Netanyahu’s page, which uses an automated chat function to communicate with followers.

The social media giant suspended the application after it violated a law prohibiting the publication of public opinion polls in the days leading up to an election

‘The chat bot is our way to talk to our supporters. They took a five kilo hammer and used it to crush us in the Likud; we are in a difficult struggle’, Netanyahu said

Last Thursday, the chat bot was suspended for 24 hours after it was found to have violated Facebook’s hate-speech policy.

The page had called on voters to prevent the establishment of a government composed of ‘Arabs who want to destroy us all – women, children and men’.

Netanyahu later denied he had written the post, claiming in an interview with Kan Reshet Bet radio it was produced by ‘one of the workers at our election headquarters’.

A Facebook spokesperson said: ‘We’re working with elections officials around the world to help ensure the integrity of the elections.

This is the second time in less than a week that the social media giant has taken action against Netanyahu’s page (Pictured: Netanyahu on Sunday)

It comes as voter turnout on Tuesday was significantly higher than that of previous elections, with attendance reaching 36.5 per cent and 2,331,974 votes cast by 2pm.

This marked a 0.7 per cent increase over the turnout level by this time in the April election, the Central Elections Committee said.

At 10am on Tuesday, turnout was at 15 percent, the highest level at that time of day since 1984, according to the election committee.

The high voter turnout, however, is believed to be among Arab-Israelis and the left, prompting Netanyahu to call an emergency party meeting and urge his supporters to cast their ballots.

The prime minster, who is seeking a fourth consecutive term, warned his right-wing supporters that they would face an Arab-controlled government if they did not vote, the Independent reported.

Netanyahu faces a strong challenge from retired military chief Benny Gantz, whose centrist Blue and White party is running neck and neck with Netanyahu’s Likud (Pictured: Gantz)

‘The media is reporting that there’s a record voter turnout among the Left, and a low voter turnout among right-wing voters’, he told a crowd at Jerusalem’s central bus station.

‘[The media] says the percentage of voters is surprising. It’s high among the Arab population. It’s not surprising. The Palestinian Authority is coming out with an official statement and I quote, ‘go out to vote and bring down Netanyahu”.

Netanyahu, the longest serving leader in Israeli history, is seeking a fourth consecutive term in office in Tuesday’s election.

This would be his fifth term in total, having first held the position of prime minister from June 1996 to July 1999 before being elected again in March 2009.

Last night, Netanyahu urged Israelis not to waste the national holiday at the beach, the market, or – as a clip of a couple’s feet intertwining beneath the sheets suggests – having election-day sex.

The clip, posted to Netanyahu’s Twitter account, ended with a warning to those who weren’t planning to vote: ‘The left is getting ready to take over the government’.

Netanyahu faces a strong challenge from retired military chief Benny Gantz, whose centrist Blue and White party is running neck and neck with Netanyahu’s Likud.

Both parties could struggle to form a majority coalition with smaller allies, however, forcing them into a potential unity government.

Netanyahu has tried to portray himself as a statesman who is uniquely qualified to lead the country through challenging times.

Gantz seeks to paint the prime minister as divisive and scandal-plagued, presenting himself as a calming influence and an honest alternative.

The vote marks their second showdown of the year, after drawing even in the country’s previous election in April.

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