Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared in a stark official photograph on Tuesday, shown issuing orders to eliminate senior Iranian regime officials, as his office fought back against rampant online claims that he had been killed in the escalating war with Tehran. Posted to the Israeli leader's X account amid missile exchanges gripping the Middle East, the image depicted Netanyahu in a command centre with the caption 'Photo Benjamin Netanyahu ordering the elimination of senior Iranian regime officials.'
Rumours of Benjamin Netanyahu's death had circulated for days, sparked by viral videos analysed for alleged AI glitches such as extra fingers or looping backgrounds, claims his team dismissed as 'fake news.' Israeli officials and fact‑checkers attributed the anomalies to compression artefacts and optical illusions, while Netanyahu released clips, including one from a Jerusalem café in which he deadpanned, 'I am dead... for coffee,' another outdoors, and a Nowruz greeting to Iranians. These followed his office telling Anadolu Agency that 'these are fake news; the Prime Minister is fine.'
