TikTok removed more than 550,000 videos in Israel as election misinformation concerns grow
The platform says most violations were detected before users reported them as it prepares for Israel’s October 27 election with a dedicated taskforce, AI-content labels and partnerships with Reuters and election officials.
TikTok removed more than 551,000 videos in Israel during the first quarter of 2026, as the platform ramps up preparations for the country’s upcoming general election and attempts to limit misinformation, deceptive campaigns and misleading AI-generated content.
According to data released by TikTok ahead of Israel’s October 27 election, only a small portion of the removed videos were related to election integrity and misinformation. However, the company said it detected the vast majority of those violations before users reported them, highlighting the scale of automated and proactive moderation efforts taking place behind the scenes.
Of the videos removed in Israel during the quarter, 3% were taken down for violations of TikTok’s Integrity and Authenticity policies, which include misinformation and election-related manipulation.
TikTok said that among content removed under its civic and election integrity policies, 98.3% violated those rules, while 99% of content removed for edited media and AI-generated content violations involved breaches of those policies.
The company did not disclose how many of the removed videos were directly connected to political activity or election-related misinformation.
The figures were released as TikTok detailed its preparations for Israel’s upcoming election, including the creation of a dedicated Israeli Election taskforce made up of cybersecurity, misinformation and integrity teams.
The company said the team is already working with advanced moderation technologies and external partners, including Israel’s Central Elections Committee and Reuters, which TikTok uses as its local fact-checking partner.
TikTok’s election preparations reflect a broader concern among social media companies and governments: that artificial intelligence tools are making it easier to create convincing fake videos, images and audio that can spread rapidly during politically sensitive periods.
The company said it requires all realistic AI-generated content on the platform to be labeled. Since introducing its AI content label, TikTok said more than 3 billion videos globally have been tagged through creator disclosures and technologies including C2PA and invisible watermarking.
But the company said labels alone are not sufficient. TikTok said it removes content that contains false information about voting procedures, bans accounts that impersonate politicians or news organizations, and restricts the distribution of content containing claims that cannot yet be verified.
When information cannot immediately be confirmed, including during periods such as vote counting, TikTok said it may add an “unverified information” label, warn users before sharing and prevent the content from being recommended through its For You feed.
Ahead of the Israeli election, TikTok also reiterated restrictions placed on political actors using the platform.
Government and political accounts are prohibited from accessing advertising and monetization features, and campaign fundraising is not allowed.
The company also maintains a ban on paid political advertising, including payments to creators for political messaging and campaign promotion.
However, official election authorities are permitted to use TikTok to provide information about voting procedures.
TikTok said its goal ahead of the election is to combine technology, cybersecurity expertise and local partnerships to protect the platform from manipulation while allowing political discussion to continue.
