As the conflict in West Asia enters its 19th day, tensions have reached a fever pitch, not just on the battlefield but in the digital world. Global concerns escalated this week following widespread rumors on social media claiming that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been killed. The speculation reached such a high level of international attention that U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly dispatched a special envoy to Israel to personally verify the Prime Minister’s well-being.
The rumors gained significant traction after a video of Netanyahu surfaced in which social media users claimed to see “six fingers” on his right hand—a common glitch associated with AI-generated deepfakes. The digital firestorm intensified when Grok, the AI chatbot on the X platform, reportedly flagged one of Netanyahu’s “proof of life” videos as a deepfake. This led to a wave of conspiracy theories suggesting that the Israeli government was using artificial intelligence to hide the Prime Minister’s death or serious injury during recent retaliatory strikes.
In response to the growing uncertainty, Prime Minister Netanyahu released a new video on Tuesday featuring U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee. In the clip, Huckabee jokingly remarks that President Trump specifically sent him to “make sure you were okay” because the two leaders “get along too well.” Netanyahu is seen smiling and shaking hands with the Ambassador, clearly responding to the rumors by stating, “Yes, Mike, I’m alive.”
To further debunk the “AI” and “six-finger” theories, Netanyahu took a jab at his critics during the video by pointedly showing his hands to the camera. “We shake hands with five fingers in each hand,” he quipped, mocking the viral claims. This latest appearance follows a string of videos released by his office, including one of him casually ordering coffee at a Jerusalem cafe, all aimed at proving his active presence and leadership as the war continues to expand.
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