Likud Leads Meta Ad Spending as Israel Nears 26th Knesset Elections
With five days until the Knesset elections, data reveals massive political spending on Meta platforms. Likud leads with 1.92 million shekels, followed by Yashar! and BeYachad.
With just five days remaining until the 26th Knesset elections, political parties are channeling vast resources into social media campaigns, with Meta serving as a primary battleground for paid political advertisements.
According to data analyzed by ice, total spending on political and social advertising in Israel reached approximately 10.84 million shekels over the examined 30-day period. The figures highlight significant disparities in campaign expenditures across different parties and geographic regions, particularly in metropolitan hubs like Tel Aviv.
Campaign Spending Leaders
When examining the top spenders on Meta platforms, Likud, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, secured first place by a wide margin, investing roughly 1.92 million shekels in a single month. In second place was the Yashar! party led by Gadi Eisenkot, with about 1.04 million shekels.
The joint list BeYachad, formed by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, ranked third with approximately 755,000 shekels. It was followed by Yisrael Beytenu, headed by Avigdor Lieberman, at 666,000 shekels, and The Democrats (HaDemokratim) led by Yair Golan, rounding out the top five with 572,000 shekels.
Regional Focus and Tel Aviv's Status
Geographic targeting revealed that campaigns heavily prioritized major urban centers, with Tel Aviv commanding intense focus due to its status as a cultural and technological epicenter. Parties evidently recognized that shifting discourse in the economic capital could rapidly influence nationwide trends.
Following top metropolitan investments, the North district saw about 1.9 million shekels in ad spending, the South district recorded 1.57 million shekels, Haifa reached 1.36 million shekels, and Jerusalem accounted for roughly 1.06 million shekels.
As polls prepare to open on Tuesday, it remains to be seen whether multi-million shekel digital outlays will successfully translate into decisive ballot box results.
