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No clear winner in Israeli election, exit polls show

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 17 outlets across the spectrum.

30 articles in total, 2 of them opinion. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Three women work at desks before a large screen showing election results percentages and years.
Image via Al Jazeera EnglishHow images are chosenReport this image

Israelis voted Tuesday in a parliamentary election that drew record turnout. Exit polls broadcast as voting closed showed no clear winner, with neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor challenger Gadi Eisenkot appearing likely to secure a majority. The polls projected Netanyahu's party as the largest single party, while the anti-Netanyahu bloc looked set to hold more seats. Final results are expected in the coming days and may differ from the exit polls. Forming a government could take weeks or months, or could lead to another election.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. Voter turnout in Israel's parliamentary election on Tuesday was the highest in decades, according to reports on the vote.

    Reported byLeft3Center2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    Al Jazeera English, NPR, Bloomberg
    Center
    The Hill, Semafor

  2. Exit polls released as voting closed showed no clear winner, and neither Netanyahu nor Eisenkot appeared likely to reach a majority.

    Reported byLeft1Center4Right1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    CBS News
    Center
    PBS NewsHour, Financial Times, Deutsche Welle, Semafor
    Right
    The American Conservative
    Far Right
    Just the News

  3. Exit polls projected Eisenkot's bloc ahead of Netanyahu's coalition, though Netanyahu's party was projected to be the largest single party.

    Reported byLeft1Center2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    Bloomberg
    Center
    Deutsche Welle, Semafor

  4. Final results are expected in the coming days and may differ from the exit polls.

    One outletPBS NewsHour· Center

  5. Forming a government could take weeks or months, or could lead to another election, according to the exit-poll analysis.

    One outletSemafor· Center

What is contested

Where accounts differ

Points the coverage does not agree on, and who says what.

  • Netanyahu is trailing challenger Gadi Eisenkot.

    Bloomberg reports that three exit polls show Netanyahu trailing Eisenkot and that the race is too close to call. Deutsche Welle reports that Netanyahu's party is projected to be the biggest in parliament, while the anti-Netanyahu bloc looks set to have more seats.

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side reports that exit polls showed no clear winner in the Israeli election. The main difference is emphasis: left and center outlets stress record turnout and the anti-Netanyahu lead, while right-side outlets stress the deadlock and Netanyahu's survival.

  • the left

    7 outlets

    Left headlines lead with the record turnout and with Netanyahu trailing or the race being too close to call, and NPR frames the vote as a choice to stick with his far-right coalition.

    Israel Election: Exit Polls Show Netanyahu Trailing Eisenkot
    BloombergLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    8 outlets

    Center headlines report no clear winner or a tight race, with Deutsche Welle stressing the anti-Netanyahu bloc's lead and The Hill framing the vote as a do-or-die referendum on Netanyahu.

    No clear winner in Israeli parliamentary election, exit polls suggest
    Financial TimesCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    2 outlets · 1 opinion

    Right headlines report a deadlock in the exit polls, while the far-right outlets tie the vote to the Hamas attack and, in opinion, ask whether Netanyahu will hang on.

    Voting Closes in Israel, Exit Polls Show No Clear Winner
    The American ConservativeRightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left1

    genocidal war

  • Center4

    do-or-die electionraging criminalitydelivered a rebuke toscandal-dogged

  • Right1

    gunning for

In the outlets’ own words

  • Absolutist framing

    genocidal warMore neutral: war in Gaza

    Describes the war in the outlet's own voice as genocide, presenting a contested characterization as settled fact.

    …parliament, or Knesset, in the first general election since the start of the genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza in October 2023.

    Used byAl Jazeera English (Left)

  • Sensational language

    do-or-die electionMore neutral: closely watched election

    Uses dramatic framing in the outlet's own voice where a plain description of a closely watched election is available.

    Israel wraps up voting in do-or-die election for Netanyahu: What to watch

    Used byThe Hill (Center)

  • Sensational language

    raging criminalityMore neutral: high levels of crime

    The word raging dramatizes the level of crime in a community rather than describing it neutrally.

    The raging criminality and violence across the Arab and Palestinian community, as well as the war in…

    Used byDeutsche Welle (Center)

  • Loaded verb

    delivered a rebuke toMore neutral: projected results put the coalition of

    The phrase presents the poll projections as a judgement by voters on Netanyahu rather than as projected seat results.

    The projected results delivered a rebuke to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose coalition finished behind that of…

    Used bySemafor (Center)

Show 2 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Loaded modifier

    scandal-doggedMore neutral: Netanyahu

    The label pre-judges Netanyahu by attaching scandal to him without stating which matters are at issue in the report.

    …challenger Gadi Eisenkot, who has offered himself as a hawkish alternative to the scandal-dogged Netanyahu.

    Used bySemafor (Center)

  • Loaded verb

    gunning forMore neutral: seek to defeat

    The phrase presents opponents as eager to defeat Netanyahu, a motive the article asserts without evidence.

    We know the left is gunning for Benjamin Netanyahu’s defeat.

    Used byTownhall (Far Right)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

7 outlets

Leads with

  • record turnout
  • Netanyahu trailing Eisenkot
  • far-right coalition
  • too close to call
See the 7 headlines from the leftHide the headlines

From the center

8 outlets

Leads with

  • no clear winner
  • anti-Netanyahu bloc ahead
  • do-or-die referendum
  • final results may differ
See the 9 headlines from the centerHide the headlines

From the right

2 outlets · 1 opinion

Leads with

  • deadlock
  • Hamas attack backdrop
  • Netanyahu's survival

Leaves out

  • record turnout

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the 3 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • The American ConservativeRight

    Voting Closes in Israel, Exit Polls Show No Clear Winner

    State of the Union: Both Netanyahu's coalition and the opposition bloc fell short of a majority.

    Read at The American Conservative (opens in a new tab)
  • Just the NewsFar Right

    Israeli exit polls show deadlock in critical first election since Hamas attack in 2023

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing a tough reelection bid amid criticism about security lapses ahead of the attacks and his handling of ensuing wars including those in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.

    Read at Just the News (opens in a new tab)
  • TownhallFar RightOpinion

    Will Netanyahu Hang on in Israel's Make-Or-Break Election?

    We know the left is Loaded verb“gunning for”The phrase presents opponents as eager to defeat Netanyahu, a motive the article asserts without evidence.More neutral: seek to defeatDisagree with this highlight? Benjamin Netanyahu’s defeat. His Likud Party is slated to be Israel’s largest party in the Knesset, but that could change. The next question is whether Netanyahu’s opposition declares victory; the next is whether they can form a government.

    Read at Townhall (opens in a new tab)

Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    First to report

    Al Jazeera English, Oct 27, 3:28 PM EDT

  • Center

    37 min later

    Its first report, Oct 27, 4:05 PM EDT

  • Right

    2 hr later

    Its first report, Oct 27, 5:30 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. Al Jazeera EnglishLeftOct 27, 3:28 PM EDT
  2. The HillCenterOct 27, 4:05 PM EDT
  3. PBS NewsHourCenterOct 27, 4:11 PM EDT
  4. Financial TimesCenterOct 27, 4:19 PM EDT
  5. Deutsche WelleCenterOct 27, 4:21 PM EDT
  6. NewsweekCenterOct 27, 4:39 PM EDT
  7. NPRLeftOct 27, 4:45 PM EDT
  8. BloombergLeftOct 27, 4:49 PM EDT
  9. CBS NewsLeftOct 27, 4:52 PM EDT
  10. The GuardianLeftOct 27, 4:56 PM EDT
  11. The American ConservativeRightOct 27, 5:30 PM EDT
  12. France 24CenterOct 27, 5:41 PM EDT
  13. The New York TimesLeftOct 27, 5:58 PM EDT
  14. The Christian Science MonitorCenterOct 27, 6:09 PM EDT
  15. SemaforCenterOct 27, 6:28 PM EDT
  16. NBC NewsLeftOct 27, 6:50 PM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out. Just the News gave only a date, so it is not placed.

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