- Israeli PM Netanyahu's office confirmed he is alive amid death rumors on social media
- Rumors began after a video showed Netanyahu with what some claimed was a sixth finger
- Users questioned video authenticity due to alleged AI glitches
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is "fine," his office claimed after social media posts suggested he had died. A correspondent from the Anadolu Agency asked the office if they had a statement on the increasing claims on social media that "Netanyahu has been assassinated."
"These are fake news; the Prime Minister is fine," the office replied.
What Sparked The Rumours
On Friday, Netanyahu shared a video of a press conference on the ongoing US-Israel-Iran war on his X (formerly Twitter) account. In the video, several social media users claimed to have spotted six fingers on Netanyahu's right hand, fueling rumours that the video was AI-generated.
At the 0:35 mark, when Netanyahu raises his hands, extra flesh is seen next to the little finger, which many social media users claimed was the sixth finger, a 'Classic AI finger glitch'.
Photo Credit: Screengrab from video posted on X by @netanyahu
American conservative political commentator Candace Owens asked, "Where's Bibi?", referring to him by his nickname. "Why is his office releasing and deleting fake AI videos from him, and why is there mass panic at the White House?" she wrote in an X post.
One user also raised questions over the movement of the curtains in the background while the two Israeli flags remained still. They wrote: "Notice how the blackout curtain moves in the exact same pattern throughout the entire video, almost like it's looping. While the two flags don't move at all. Clear indicator of AI."
This claim was, however, rejected by another user who said, "Many people use fake backgrounds these days, like news broadcasters. Doesn't mean he's fake."
X's AI chatbot Grok fact-checked the claims about the six fingers and said, "No, Benjamin Netanyahu does not have six fingers. The circled spots in those images are optical illusions from shadows, hand angles, or the palm's natural shape (like the hypothenar eminence) in still frames from his recent speech video. Full official footage from Israel's Government Press Office clearly shows standard five fingers per hand."
Day 16 Of US-Israel-Iran War
Israel and the US launched joint attacks against Iran on February 28, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the first day of the war. Iran has retaliated with strikes against its oil-exporting neighbours.
Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz, a key channel for the world's oil supply, disrupting trade. The narrow waterway is one of the world's most important energy routes, typically handling about 20 million barrels of oil shipments each day and roughly 20 per cent of the global liquefied natural gas trade.
