After Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received his first of two COVID-19 Pfizer vaccines at Tel Hashomer Hospital, he took advantage of the location to film his first TikTok video. That was on Dec. 19, 2020, and Netanyahu — who bore the honorary degree of being the first person in Israel to be vaccinated — appeared feisty and spirited and said he felt great.
Just before the video was uploaded to TikTok, Netanyahu’s social media staff reported to the media that the prime minister had opened an account on the app. Since then, Netanyahu’s vaccine video got about 3 million hits, and he’s not stopping there. As of today, Netanyahu managed to upload another 11 upbeat videos, one minute for each (according to current limitations of the genre). It isn’t surprising that Netanyahu was the first Israeli politician who saw the potential in TikTok as a tool to serve him in the current election campaign.
Netanyahu is known for his worship of social networks ever since he revealed their tremendous power in the 2015 elections. Since then, he is racing on all the platforms and has already achieved digital superiority over all his competitors via his well-trained staff — and lots of funding.
Aside from Facebook and Twitter, Israel’s prime minister has over recent years also opened accounts on Telegram and Instagram. All in all, he has millions of followers despite the fact that in Israel, TikTok and other such genres are identified with kids and adolescent entertainment. Netanyahu’s activities in this sphere have surprised many people and also attracted a new public to his side.
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