Netanyahu shares Likud billboard linking Mamdani, Khamenei, Erdogan and Qassem
The Tel Aviv election poster urges voters not to let the four figures 'win' by defeating the prime minister
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Netanyahu election billboard groups New York Mayor Mamdani among Israel’s enemies
Photograph: Arab News (embedded from source)
What this story says
- A Likud billboard in Tel Aviv features images of Zohran Mamdani, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Naim Qassem with the slogan 'They want Netanyahu to lose. Do not let them win.'
- Netanyahu shared the billboard on his social media account on 16 August 2026, ahead of Israel’s 27 October election.
- Mamdani has called for Netanyahu’s arrest if he visits New York for the United Nations General Assembly next month.
- Israeli opposition parties created their own versions of the billboard, targeting Netanyahu’s allies and the Qatargate scandal.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 6 of the 12 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
74/100
Craft
58/100
Hype
41/100
12 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
Only 1 of the 6 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party erected a billboard in Tel Aviv showing New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem. The slogan reads: 'They want Netanyahu to lose. Do not let them win.' Netanyahu posted an image of the billboard on his social media account on 16 August 2026.
Mamdani, who took office as New York mayor in January 2026, has said Netanyahu would not be welcome in the city and called for his arrest if he attends the United Nations General Assembly in September. The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in 2025 over war crimes charges related to the Gaza conflict. Erdogan has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and has been a vocal critic of its conduct in the war.
Israeli opposition parties responded by creating their own versions of the billboard. Yashar, led by former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, replaced the four figures with a slogan accusing Netanyahu of wanting the IDF to collapse. MK Naama Lazimi posted a version featuring figures linked to the Qatargate scandal, which alleges that Netanyahu’s aides were paid by Qatar during hostage negotiations with Hamas.
What the coverage left out
None of the right-rated digests mention the opposition parties’ versions of the billboard or the Qatargate scandal. The left-rated report does not include the location of the billboard in Tel Aviv.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 5 times, most recently on 17 Aug 2026, 01:15, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
Netanyahu shares Likud billboard linking Mamdani, Khamenei, Erdogan and Qassem
Jerusalem Post — embedded from source
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
1 rated outlet
- Haaretz led on the billboard’s depiction of Mamdani alongside leaders of groups and countries Israel has fought militarily. The report described the four figures as 'Israel’s wartime enemies' and noted that Mamdani faces 'mounting attacks from senior Israeli officials.'
Centre
1 rated outlet
- The Jerusalem Post focused on the political reactions to the billboard. It reported that opposition parties created their own versions, including one targeting Netanyahu’s allies in the Qatargate scandal. The report also noted that the billboard stands in Tel Aviv, not Jerusalem as some social media posts claimed.
Right
4 rated outlets
- Arab News described the billboard as 'highly provocative' and highlighted the inclusion of Erdogan and Mamdani alongside Iran and Hezbollah leaders. The report quoted Netanyahu’s accusation that Mamdani is 'fomenting hate.' The four right-rated digests, i24NEWS, Al Bawaba, VINnews and Akşam, all carried the billboard’s slogan and the names of the four figures, but none mentioned the opposition parties’ responses or the Qatargate scandal.
Read it at the source
12 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
1Centre
1Right
4- Netanyahu election billboard groups New York Mayor Mamdani among (opens Arab News in a new tab)
- Likud's Election Poster: Zohran Mamdani Alongside the Iranian Supreme Guide and Hezbollah Leader (opens i24NEWS in a new tab)
- Netanyahu promotes Likud billboard targeting foreign leaders (opens Al Bawaba in a new tab)
- Likud Billboard Portrays Mamdani, Khamenei and Erdogan as Netanyahu’s Political Foes (opens VINnews in a new tab)
Not rated
6- Netanyahu Used a Photo of Erdoğan in His Election Campaign. (opens Halk TV in a new tab)
- Netanyahu Used Erdoğan on His Election Poster. (opens gazetepencere.com in a new tab)
gazetepencere.com — is gazetepencere.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Bibi Has Lost Her Composure: Fear of Erdoğan Has Turned Into Election Propaganda. (opens Akşam in a new tab)
- Fear of Türkiye in Israel! Netanyahu's Party Targeted President Erdoğan. (opens A Haber in a new tab)
- The Discourse Surrounding Türkiye Is Escalating in Israeli Politics! A Picture of President Erdoğan Was Used. (opens Aydınlık in a new tab)
- Likud Releases Election Poster Featuring Erdoğan. (opens Haberler in a new tab)
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Netanyahu shares Likud billboard linking Mamdani, Khamenei, Erdogan and…?
- Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 17% are rated left, 16% are rated centre, 67% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 12. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Netanyahu shares Likud billboard linking Mamdani, Khamenei, Erdogan and… left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Netanyahu shares Likud billboard linking Mamdani, Khamenei, Erdogan and… biased?
- Netanyahu shares Likud billboard linking Mamdani, Khamenei, Erdogan and Qassem is one event reported by 12 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Netanyahu shares Likud billboard linking Mamdani, Khamenei, Erdogan and…?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Netanyahu shares Likud billboard linking Mamdani, Khamenei, Erdogan and…?
- 12 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- Who is featured on the Likud billboard?
- The billboard shows New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem. Likud’s slogan urges voters not to let them 'win' by defeating Netanyahu in the 27 October election.
- Why did Netanyahu share the billboard?
- Netanyahu posted the billboard on his social media account on 16 August 2026, ahead of Israel’s election. The campaign aims to frame his political opponents as aligned with figures Israel considers adversaries, including leaders of Iran and Hezbollah.
- How did Israeli opposition parties respond?
- Opposition parties created their own versions of the billboard. Yashar, led by Gadi Eisenkot, accused Netanyahu of wanting the IDF to collapse. MK Naama Lazimi’s version targeted figures linked to the Qatargate scandal, alleging corruption in Netanyahu’s circle.
- Which outlets reported on the opposition’s responses?
- The Jerusalem Post and Haaretz reported on the opposition parties’ versions of the billboard. None of the right-rated digests, i24NEWS, Al Bawaba, VINnews or Akşam, mentioned these responses or the Qatargate scandal.
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
