A fake Facebook profile pretending to be Orly Levy-Abekasis, head of the Gesher party, was circulated on Monday with the message that the party was dropping out of the Israeli elections. In another incident, a fake Twitter profile pretending to be Channel 13 also “reported” that Gesher was dropping out.The posts were just one part of a wave of social media attacks on the party in the past few days, which included SMS messages from the Kulanu party telling voters that “a vote for Orly = a vote to the trash.” On Saturday, Gabi Ashkenazi claimed that they were holding talks with Gesher. Gesher denied the reports and said that Ashkenazi was “flat-out lying.”Akiva Novick, a Channel 13 anchor reporting on the incidents, emphasized that the reports that Gesher had dropped out are false and that he had found many more fake reports against Orly Levy-Abekasis on Twitter.“Gesher is getting stronger, so they’re spreading lies against us,” Gesher’s Facebook page said in a post responding to the incidents. “Our answer in the ballot box will be overwhelming.”A spokesperson for the Central Elections Committee confirmed in a statement on Tuesday that Gesher is still running in the elections.
