U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib shared a fabricated poll on social media platform X, falsely claiming that a majority of Israelis support the rape of imprisoned terrorists. The poll, quickly identified as a hoax, was a poorly edited version of an older, unrelated survey.
Key points:
- The fake poll asked if soldiers should be allowed to rape bound terrorists
- It showed 47% agreeing and 43% disagreeing
- The original poll, by journalist Amit Segal, was about government support
- Pro-Palestinian user Nora Erakat initially spread the fake poll
The Fake Poll Explained: The fabricated image was created by editing an older, legitimate poll conducted by journalist Amit Segal over a year ago. While the original poll asked about government support for terrorism, the fake version posed a highly inflammatory question about soldiers raping terrorists.
This misinformation was initially shared by a pro-Palestinian user before being amplified by Rep. Tlaib.
The fabricated poll was initially created as a satirical response to comments made by Israel Hayom commentator Yehuda Schlesinger regarding alleged actions against a terrorist. Schlesinger has since apologized for his remarks.
As of now, Rep. Tlaib has not commented on her sharing of the false information.
* Israel HaYom contributed to this article.