Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has confirmed that he is “fine” after a flood of posts on social media filled with speculation about his death.
The clarification was issued after an Anadolu Agency correspondent asked his office about rumors spreading on digital platforms that “Netanyahu has been assassinated.”
Netanyahu’s office responded directly and rejected the reports, saying, “These are fake news; the Prime Minister is absolutely fine.”
The rumors intensified on Friday after the Israeli Prime Minister posted a video of a press conference on the ongoing conflict between the US, Israel and Iran. Some social media users alleged that the footage was created by AI and that they saw six fingers on the Prime Minister’s right hand.
In particular, viewers pointed to the moment at the 0:35 mark where Netanyahu raises his hand, claiming that the extra flesh visible near his little finger was a ‘classic AI finger glitch’.
American conservative commentator Candace Owens also participated in the discussion, asking in a post on X, “Where’s Bibi?”
He further questioned, “Why is his office releasing and then removing his fake AI videos, and why is there so much panic in the White House?”
However, Israeli chatbot Grok, while checking the truth of these allegations, clarified that Netanyahu does not have six fingers. The chatbot explained that the discrepancies in appearance were optical illusions caused by shadows, the angle of the hand, or the natural shape of the palm, such as the hyphenar eminence (protrusion of the six fingers).
The chatbot also pointed out that official footage from the Israeli government press office shows that each hand has five fingers as standard.
The backdrop to these rumors is a significant regional tension that began on February 28, when Israel and the US launched joint attacks on Iran. Former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei died on the first day of the conflict, prompting Iran to attack neighboring oil-exporting countries.
Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz, causing massive disruption to global trade. The narrow waterway is a vital energy route, normally carrying about 20 million barrels of oil per day and about 20 percent of global trade in liquefied natural gas.