Is Benjamin Netanyahu dead or missing? Israel’s PMO breaks silence, says ‘Prime Minister is...’

The Israeli Prime Minister's officials state that rumours regarding Netanyahu's death are false.

Amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East region, rumours regarding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's death are circulating across social media platforms. Many reports indicated that Netanyahu had been severely wounded in an Iranian airstrike and later succumbed to those injuries. However, the Israeli PM's office has strongly denied these reports, calling them completely "fake" and baseless.

Is Benjamin Netanyahu dead or alive?

The Israeli Prime Minister's officials state that rumours regarding Netanyahu's death are false, and warned people not to believe any unverified information about him. With numerous reports citing that Benjamin Netanyahu has not appeared in any public events since the beginning of the war in West Asia, his office has released an important statement refuting these reports as "false information." They also address online speculation of Netanyahu's assassination in an Iranian response to US and Israeli strikes. "These are fake news; the Prime Minister is fine," the office stated to news agency Anadolu Ajans .

What statement did Israel's Prime Minister's Office issue on the claims?

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The controversy began when Benjamin Netanyahu shared a video of himself on March 13 through the social media platform X, showing him standing at a podium. One frame from that video was shared widely on social media, claiming that Netanyahu appeared to have six fingers on his right hand while gesturing at the podium.

How did the controversy around Netanyahu's alleged 'six fingers' video begin?

People on social media stated that the frame glitch of a finger was created with AI technology and made accusations that the video was not real and was a "deepfake" video. This then led to an increase in speculation and suggestions about whether Benjamin Netanyahu was alive or if there was a video of him that had been created by AI.

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In the viral video, Netanyahu appears to have a sixth finger when he raises his hands. Many social media users are interpreting the extra finger near his little finger as the sixth finger, claiming it is a 'Classic AI Finger Glitch'. In an X post, conservative American political commentator Candace Owens questioned, "Washington D.C is lying to the American people about what is going on in Iran. It is not going well. Also where is Bibi Netanyahu? Why is his office releasing and deleting fake AI videos from him and why is there mass panic at the White House?"

According to Grok, the AI chatbot from X, Benjamin Netanyahu did not have six fingers. Rather, the visual effects in those photos resulted from shadows or angles of hands, or how a person's palm forms in a standing position.

"No, Netanyahu has five fingers on each hand like most people. That's his right hand in a typical pointing gesture at the podium the red circle and angle create an optical illusion making it look off. Just a still from the press conference video," Grok replied.