Benjamin Netanyahu sparked a fresh wave of online conspiracy theories on Friday after a televised address from Jerusalem, in which the Israeli prime minister appeared to have 'six fingers' on one hand, triggered claims the video was generated by artificial intelligence and that he was already dead.
For context, Netanyahu's video message was released amid the continuing confrontation with Iran, following joint US–Israeli strikes that killed former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. His son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, has become the new focal point of a fraught standoff involving Netanyahu, former US president Donald Trump, and Tehran's leadership. Against that backdrop, rumours that Iran's earlier strikes had already 'taken out' Netanyahu have repeatedly circulated online, only to be disproved by official statements and mainstream reporting.
