NYT: Israel spent at least $1 million to influence Eurovision

Israeli authorities spent at least $1 million on promoting its artists and turning the Eurovision Song Contest into a tool of influence, The New York Times reports.

According to the outlet, Israel may have manipulated voting results in its favour, although no direct evidence of bots or coordinated vote-rigging was presented.

Part of the funding came from a branch of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration responsible for public messaging.

In 2024, the government reportedly spent more than $800,000 on Eurovision-related advertising, with most of the funding provided by the Foreign Ministry.

The investigation says Israel also ran multilingual online advertising campaigns urging audiences to vote for its entry 20 times in previous years, while this year similar campaigns encouraged voting 10 times for its contestant.

The New York Times notes that Israel won votes in countries with strong anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian sentiment, though it emphasises that there is no direct proof of bot activity or other coordinated manipulation.

In September last year, Eurovision organisers reportedly launched a vote on Israel’s participation in the contest but later cancelled it, citing a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Separately, the BBC reported that Ireland, Iceland, Spain, the Netherlands, and Slovenia refused to broadcast Eurovision 2026 on national television.

Late last year, these countries also declined to send participants to the contest over Israel’s participation, marking what is described as the largest boycott in the competition’s 70-year history.

The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 is being held in Vienna, Austria, on May 12, 14, and 16.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov