Pollster's WhatsApp Account Briefly Blocked on Election Day

On Election Day for the 26th Knesset, Shlomo (Momo) Filber, a pollster for Channel 14 and responsible for the channel's election sample, experienced a sudden and unexpected blockage of his WhatsApp account. The restriction occurred just hours before the channel's election sample was scheduled to be released at 9:45 PM. This incident followed Filber's announcement the previous evening that he had entered "sample procedure," which includes strict confidentiality measures. A screenshot from his device indicated that the app had placed his account under regulatory review, a process typically lasting around 24 hours. However, the blockage was lifted shortly thereafter, and access to his account was restored following intervention with Meta Israel (Facebook).

The incident caused a brief period of drama on an otherwise routine election day. Filber had been tasked with managing the sensitive election sample for Channel 14, a role that requires maintaining strict secrecy until the official release of the results. The temporary suspension of his communication channel raised concerns, particularly given its proximity to the scheduled sample release time.