Yonatan Urich hit with lawsuit threat over TV ratings post

Yonatan Urich, adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is facing the threat of another lawsuit. Guy Lerer, host of the television program "HaTzinor" (The Pipeline), sent a legal warning letter Tuesday through his attorneys following a chart Urich posted on the social network X. The chart purported to show a sharp decline in the show's viewership over the years.

The warning letter was addressed to attorneys Amit Hadad and Noa Milstein, who represent Urich. At the center of the complaint is a post Urich uploaded on October 12, in which he presented data claiming to reflect viewership ratings for the show between 2016 and 2026.

According to the graph, viewership dropped from 12% in 2016 to 4.8% in 2026. Alongside the chart, Urich wrote: "Guy is right. Neither of us is what we used to be. Guy Lerer's rating."

Lerer claims the data is false and that the way it was presented creates a misleading impression about his professional achievements.

The claim against Urich: False data

The warning letter argues that Urich presented the figures as measured facts without citing the source of the information or the calculation method on which it was based.

"The data you presented in the graph is not truthful," the letter states.

According to Lerer's attorneys, this is not personal criticism or an opinion about a television program, but rather a publication purporting to present precise numerical data.

The letter further claims that presenting the decline over the years through a graph creates a misleading impression regarding the show's success and Lerer's professional standing.

The letter includes a demand to remove the posts and a warning before taking legal action. However, in the portion of the letter that was made public, no specific compensation amount demanded from Urich was mentioned.

Lerer explains why he decided to act against Urich

After sending the warning letter, Lerer posted a response on X, explaining why he decided to take legal action specifically in this case.

"I have never sued. And blatant lies, easy to prove, have been written about me in the past more than once. What's different this time? Yonatan Urich, the subject of the lawsuit. His importance in the current State of Israel. His great power. The ease with which he presses the destruction button. The automatic use of tools purporting to be truth. The complete absence of conscience," he wrote.

Lerer clarified that from his perspective, the dispute goes beyond his show's viewership numbers and also touches on confronting what he sees as the spread of false information.

"All of these turn the personal, egocentric, petty issue, the ratings of a late-night show, into something important in the battle for truth and sanity," he added.

According to him, he attached the show's ratings data alongside overall television viewership figures from the same period to his post, in order to present what he claims are the numbers that reflect reality.

Lerer even addressed the possibility that he would win monetary compensation and asked his followers: "Where should Urich's money be donated?"