Benjamin Netanyahu is facing an unusual crisis of authenticity in Israel after false claims about his death or injury spread online in recent days and videos meant to show the Israeli prime minister alive only triggered fresh allegations that the footage itself had been manipulated. His office has rejected the rumours and said Netanyahu is 'fine', but the denials have struggled to outrun the churn of posts, clips and conspiracy claims now ricocheting across social media.
The noise built after images purporting to show Netanyahu bloodied and buried in rubble circulated online with unsupported claims that he had been killed or gravely wounded. Those posts landed at a combustible moment, with war tension already fuelling a flood of misleading material online, and that seems to have helped the speculation travel further than it otherwise might have done.
