Iddo Netanyahu, Benjamin Netanyahu and Itamar Ben-Gvir were falsely reported dead or seriously injured in Tel Aviv on Friday, according to viral social media posts claiming the Israeli prime minister's brother and the national security minister had been struck in an Iranian air attack on their homes.
Those rumours erupted against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, where information and disinformation now travel at almost the same speed. Over recent months, claims about rocket attacks, assassinations and 'secret strikes' have flooded X, Telegram and messaging apps long before officials or journalists could verify what, if anything, had happened. In this case, the story spread faster than the basic checks that would usually be applied to a report involving senior Israeli figures and a supposed strike on Tel Aviv.
