Israeli Ambassador Reuven Azar has stepped forward to quash rumours surrounding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's health, confirming he is alive and debunking claims of AI-generated deepfakes.
Key Points
- Israeli Ambassador to India, Reuven Azar, confirms Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is alive and well, dismissing death rumours.
- Azar asserts that recent video footage of Netanyahu in a cafe is authentic and not AI-generated.
- The denial follows widespread social media claims alleging Netanyahu's public addresses were deepfakes and that he had died.
- Netanyahu shared a video of himself at a cafe, seemingly responding to claims of AI glitches in previous videos.
- Israeli officials have dismissed allegations of deepfake technology use as baseless disinformation.
Israel's Ambassador to India, Reuven Azar, has confirmed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is "very much alive" and clarified that recent footage of him is authentic, dismissing viral claims regarding his health and status.
The ambassador addressed the viral social media rumours, asserting that a recent video of the Prime Minister at a cafe is genuine and was not created using artificial intelligence.
"Prime Minister Netanyahu is alive. I saw him personally when I was in Israel more than once. This video at the cafe is not AI-fabricated. There is a lot of disinformation," he said.
The intervention follows a wave of online reports alleging that a recent public address by the Israeli leader was AI-generated, with some posts further speculating that he had died. These claims gained significant traction across various platforms, leading to a heated debate over the authenticity of official government footage.
Netanyahu Responds to Deepfake Allegations
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu debunked the rumours of his assassination by posting his video drinking coffee at a cafe.
Netanyahu captioned the video as, "They say I'm what? Watch."
Earlier in the day, Netanyahu's office confirmed that he is "fine.
Netanyahu's Video Sparks Speculation
The rumours gained momentum after the Israeli PM posted a video of a press conference on Friday discussing the ongoing conflict involving the US, Israel, and Iran.
Some social media users alleged that the footage was AI-generated, claiming to have identified six fingers on the Prime Minister's right hand.
Specifically, viewers pointed to a moment at the 0:35 mark where Netanyahu raises his hands, asserting that visible extra flesh near his little finger was a 'Classic AI finger glitch'.
American conservative commentator Candace Owens joined the discourse, asking, "Where's Bibi?" in a post on X. She further questioned, "Why is his office releasing and deleting fake AI videos from him, and why is there mass panic at the White House?"
However, X's AI chatbot, Grok, fact-checked the allegations, clarifying that Netanyahu does not have six fingers.
It explained that the visual anomalies were optical illusions caused by shadows, hand angles, or the palm's natural shape, such as the hyphenar eminence. The chatbot noted that official footage from Israel's Government Press Office confirms a standard five fingers per hand.
The backdrop to these rumours is a significant regional escalation that began on 28 February, when joint Israeli and US attacks were launched against Iran. The opening day of the conflict resulted in the death of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, prompting Iran to retaliate with strikes against neighbouring oil-exporting nations.
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