WASHINGTON: AI-created videos circulating on Elon Musk’s X platform depict American soldiers captured by Iran, an Israeli city in ruins, and US embassies ablaze — a surge of lifelike deepfakes despite a policy crackdown to curb wartime disinformation.

In the span of mere weeks, the US-Israeli war on Iran has given rise to a staggering amount of AI-generated visuals, dwarfing anything seen in previous conflicts and often leaving social media users unable to distinguish fabrication from reality.

One of the biggest pieces of misinformation currently doing the rounds are reports of the supposed death of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Over the past few days, a number of videos have surfaced, leading many to believe that Mr Netanyahu had, in fact, perished.

Many users even pointed to a claim that Vladimir Putin — the Russian president — had personally confirmed the development.

In response to claims that a previous video of him was AI-generated, Netanyahu posts fresh footage on X, where he is heard asking someone if they want to ‘count his fingers’

However, fact-checking website Snopes found that the tweet “Netanyahu was killed in an airstrike. We are saddened to hear the news of Netanyahu’s death. May his soul rest in peace”, actually came from a spoof account, appropriately named @MrputinSpoof.

‘Fake’ videos

According to Shayan Sardarizadeh, a senior fact-checker working for BBC Verify, another widely shared image claims to show an injured Benjamin Netanyahu after an Iranian attack targeting his residence.

The image shows what appears to be a disheveled Netanyahu, covered in dust and debris, being helped up by people who appear to be rescue workers. However, the poor quality of the image and the lack of detail on the faces of those accompanying the Israeli PM in the photo cast doubt on its authenticity.

“The image is AI-generated. There’s no evidence that Netanyahu is injured or dead,” Mr Sardarizadeh wrote on X.

Another video, released by Netanyahu’s office himself, had become a lightning rod for conspiracy theorists when eagle-eyed social media users — egged on by X’s own GrokAI — claimed that at certain points in the video, the Israeli PM seemed to have ‘six fingers’, suggesting AI manipulation of the visuals.

“Baseless claims that this video is AI-generated (it isn’t) because in it Benjamin Netanyahu “has six fingers” (he doesn’t), and that he is actually dead (he isn’t), have racked up millions upon millions of views on this platform. None of those claims are true,” Mr Sardarizadeh tweeted on Sunday.

The rumour mill got even more fuel when a video of Israel’s military council meeting, released on Saturday, did not include Netanyahu. Many found this strange, as the Israeli PM rarely misses a meeting of this key forum.

Netanyahu, his office deny rumours

The reports of his death gained so much traction that the Israeli PM’s office was forced to put out a formal statement, dismissing claims suggesting he has been killed in an Iranian response to US and Israeli strikes.

According to the Anadolu Agency, when asked if they had a statement on increasing claims on social media that Netanyahu has been assassinated, his office replied: “These are fake news; the prime minister is fine”.

Subsequently, a video seen as his response to the rumours of his death was posted on Netanyahu’s X account on Sunday evening.

In the video, Netanyahu is seen getting himself a coffee and being asked about the rumours. The post also had a caption stating: “They say I am what?”

During the conversation taking place in what appears to be Hebrew, the Jerusalem Post quoted Netanyahu as saying: “I love … coffee, I love my nation.” The report further elaborated that he also used the Hebrew slang word “met” during the conversation, which, according to Jerusalem Post, means “love” and is also the Hebrew word for “dead”.

To simplify, his remarks could be translated to: “I am dead … for coffee.”

According to the Jerusalem Post, Netanyahu also asked the person filming him whether they wanted to count his fingers, seemingly mocking people speculating that a recent video of his was AI-generated and that he may be dead.

Published in Dawn, March 16th, 2026