Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blamed social media for the sharp drop in American support for Israel. He made these comments in an interview with CBS News’ 60 Minutes. The interview came as a recent Pew survey showed that 60% of U.S. adults now have an unfavorable view of Israel, a 20-point increase from four years ago.
Correspondent Major Garrett reported on the war in Gaza, where more than 70,000 Gazans have been killed, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. Netanyahu, however, placed the blame for Israel’s damaged reputation almost entirely on social media, calling it the “eighth front of the war.”
According to Mediaite, to make his point, Netanyahu picked up Garrett’s phone and held it up, saying, “Because it’s this – this is yours, right? You’re not immune either, because you can penetrate this machine, you can penetrate this little instrument, and you can say anything about Major Garrett that you want, and I can paint you as a monster. And if I say it often enough, enough people will believe it.”
Netanyahu’s claim that foreign countries manipulated social media against Israel raises serious questions
Netanyahu went on to explain his view on why American public opinion has shifted. He said, “We have seen deterioration of support for Israel in the United States almost, I would say, correlates almost 100% with the geometric rise of social media. And that, by itself, is not what caused it, and I don’t believe in censoring them or anything.
He then continued, “But, I’ll tell you what happened. We had several countries that basically manipulated social media, and they do it in a clever way, and that’s something that has hurt us badly.” When Garrett asked Netanyahu whether Israel had done anything itself to contribute to the negative views held by some Americans, Netanyahu said, “No, of course. Look, it’s war. In war, armies sometimes miss and civilians die, and these are mistakes.”
He added, “These are not deliberate things that happen. Israel is besieged on the media front, on the propaganda front, and we’ve not done well on the propaganda war.” Netanyahu has faced other controversies recently, including leaked audio claiming Israel funded Trump’s pardon of a drug lord serving a 45-year sentence.
The Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed over 2,800 people, including 103 medical workers, since March 2. The conflict has also displaced more than 1.2 million Lebanese people, despite a ceasefire that went into effect on April 16. Netanyahu’s handling of the Lebanon situation has drawn further scrutiny, particularly after reports that he learned about Trump banning Israel from bombing Lebanon the same way the general public did.
Dr. Tahir Mohammed, a war surgeon and humanitarian worker who has worked in both Gaza and Lebanon, told Al Jazeera that he saw clear similarities in Israeli actions in both places. “We used to see our colleagues in Gaza come through the door all the time. I’ve had colleagues, nurses, medical students killed by Israeli weapons, and so to see the same policy of targeting healthcare workers in Lebanon … it’s consistent,” he said.
Netanyahu’s comments come as Israel continues to face heavy international criticism over its military actions in Gaza and Lebanon, and as debates around social media’s role in shaping public opinion on global conflicts continue to grow.
Published: May 11, 2026 11:00 am