Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to dispel rumors related to his death, fueled by AI paranoia
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has become the subject of a widely disputed but persistent claim that he is dead, the most extreme example of the murky and highly fragmented information landscape created by the combination of AI and social media.
Social media users began speculating about the Israeli leader’s well-being after a recording of a newly televised address began circulating online last week, in which Netanyahu gave an update on the war in Iran.
Some viewers have suggested that the video was created with AI, noting that at one point, Netanyahu’s hand appears to have six fingers, a common artifact of artificial intelligence output. His hand holding the screen increased in platforms like X.
The fact-checking website PolitiFact rated the six-finger claims false, writing that “a lighting trick may have made part of his hand appear as an extra finger.”
But unsubstantiated rumors of Netanyahu’s death continued to spread, with TikTokers and memes commenting on subsequent posts from his account.
Netanyahu, 76, has made few public appearances since the war began, and Iran has vowed to target him personally in retaliation for the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Mojtaba Khamenei, Ali Khamenei’s son and Iran’s new supreme leader, has also not been seen in public since the US began its war with the country and there has been similar speculation about his life.
While there is nothing to suggest that Netanyahu is unwell right now, his health has come up in Israeli politics before, with his emergency heart surgery to fit a pacemaker in 2023, and prostatectomy surgery in 2024.
Netanyahu first tried to shut down the rumors on Sunday by posting a video of himself taking a coffee from a shop in Jerusalem, joking in the clip: “I’m dying for coffee.”
Despite the evidence of a life attempt, users continued to go through each frame of that video to find signs of possible AI manipulation.
Confusion over AI content comes as many social media platforms, which pay creators for engagement, have given users an incentive to repurpose old photos and videos to amplify emotion in times of viral news. The proliferation of false information, experts say, is causing a serious erosion of trust online – especially when it comes together with authentic evidence.
Speculation about the health of world leaders has also become common on the Internet, with some social media users last year claiming that President Donald Trump had health problems due to some signs of problems seen in photos and videos and a snapshot that was not seen publicly. Trump dismissed those rumors.
On Tuesday, Netanyahu sent a video with Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, again referring to this ongoing speculation.
In the video, Huckabee can be seen walking with Netanyahu as he tells the prime minister that President Donald Trump asked him to “come and make sure he’s okay.”
“Yes, I’m fine,” Netanyahu replied in the video. He insisted that he and Trump “shake hands with five fingers on each hand,” before praising his military performance and the support of the US government.
Netanyahu then showed Huckabee a “punch card” showing two names he had “erased,” along with others he planned to target – referring to Israel’s announcement that it had killed the Islamic Republic’s top security official, Ali Larijani, and the head of its Basij, Gholam Reza Soleimani. Iranian authorities later confirmed their deaths.
Huckabee later followed up with his own post, including a photo of himself posing with the Israeli leader.
“He looked alive and in good spirits,” Huckabee wrote. “Contrary news? Phony like a Kosher pork chop.”
