When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a virtual news conference on Thursday, it was expected to bring the curtain down on rumours and theories surrounding his well-being.
Pro-Iran social media machinery has been busy claiming that Netanyahu was either dead or scarred in Tehran's counter-attacks following the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. These theories gained mileage as Netanyahu did not appear before the public for a while, unlike Donald Trump, who regularly briefed the press.
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Netanyahu's press meet was virtual, as Tel Aviv was not willing to take any chances with the PM's safety. While the propaganda claims were expected to go quiet after the press meet, it took a turn that some didn't see coming. Many claimed that the video of the press meet was AI-generated. Either "Bibi" was dead or he was recovering from injuries inflicted by Iran's ballistic missiles, they claimed. The background of the video was clearly digitised, some argued, while others claimed the PM had six fingers in the video for a moment.
Since Netanyahu is known to have no extra fingers, the sixth finger was used as evidence that the press conference video was AI-generated.
However, none of the users who claimed to have seen six fingers on Netanyahu's hand could post the video; they only had images to show. Throughout the original footage of the press meet, the Israeli PM moved his hands around as he spoke and had five fingers on each. It could well be that his palm was misunderstood for a finger in one particular frame, or the image was even edited.
As far as the background screen is concerned, even regular users have the option to blur their backgrounds and set customised backgrounds. It could well be that the PMO used curtains and national flags to set up a background that fits the address. That cannot be realistically used as evidence of the entire press meet being an AI stunt.
Netanyahu's office has also responded to the rumours, reportedly stating: "This is fake news; the Prime Minister is fine."
Meanwhile, Iran on Sunday vowed to "kill" the Israeli leader. "If this child-killing criminal is alive, we will continue to pursue and kill him with full force," Iran's Revolutionary Guards said in a statement.
What did Netanyahu say?
During his press interaction, Netanyahu said his government is making things easier for the people to topple the theocratic authoritarians. However, he was not certain if the people were up to the challenge, as ultimately, the regime should be ousted from within the country's borders.
“We will create optimal conditions to do this, including airstrikes as we did yesterday, as we are doing these days, to try to give [the Iranian people] the space needed to take to the streets. We are delivering crushing blows to the Revolutionary Guards and the Basij—their street forces, their checkpoints—and more is yet to come,” the Times of Israel quoted him as saying.
“I do not deny it: I cannot say for certain that the Iranian people will bring down the regime,” Netanyahu reportedly added.