Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu testified in court on Wednesday, claiming that the Likud Party spent no money on advertising on Walla during the 2015 elections. However, records contradict his claim, showing that Likud invested hundreds of thousands of shekels in ads on the site.
According to Ifat Media Research, the party ran 97 banners worth NIS 283,300 in January 2015, two months before the elections. This is a significant sum by industry standards and suggests that Netanyahu’s claim was false. The advertising stopped in February and early March, with reasons unclear but possibly due to an investigation or media resource reallocation.
Netanyahu also discussed his relationships with media moguls, including Keshet owner Moshe “Muzi” Wertheim, with whom he had contact before Wertheim’s death. Netanyahu defended these contacts as natural for a public figure and claimed they aimed to promote diversity in the media industry.
Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-833037