Claim: A picture shows Benjamin Netanyahu on the ventilator.
Fact: The image is fake and most likely AI-generated.
On 2 April 2024, Threads user @rehan_khan_x posted (archive) an image showing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the ventilator, alongside the following caption:
“Praying for Netanyahu
That he doesn’t wake up”
The image surfaced around the time Netanyahu underwent a hernia surgery under a “general anaesthetic”. The 74-year-old prime minister had the operation “less than a year after he was fitted with a pacemaker”, Reuters reported (archive) on 31 March 2024.
A day later, the Israeli Prime Minister’s office announced that the surgery was “successful”, DW reported (archive). Quoting The Times of Israel, it added that he was “recovering” and in touch with his family.
On 2 April, the Israeli Prime Minister’s office posted (archive) an update on X, quoting Netanyahu as saying, “I am now being discharged from Hadassah-Ein Kerem Hospital.” He also thanked his medical team and the country’s citizens.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check identified multiple errors that are commonly observed in AI-generated images.
Firstly, there’s a distorted bottle or container — that portion of the image is likely stretched vertically — on the left side. There’s also an unusually straight line cutting through the bed’s railing and the pillow.
The wires on Netanyahu’s right side are disconnected from each other, while his mask appears more like a surgical one as compared to the non-invasive respiratory masks on ventilators that are usually transparent and made of sturdier material..
Furthermore, the left ear of the individual in the picture is not what Netanyahu’s left ear looks like — as can be seen in the comparison visual below — and his left shoulder is crooked and shrugged up as opposed to how a relaxed, unconscious patient’s shoulder should be.
The original images of Netanyahu in the comparison visual above are from his verified Facebook page — here, here, here, and here — and Al Jazeera, The Times of Israel, NPR, and NBC News.
Lastly, the hair on the front of Netanyahu’s head, as well as his right eyebrow, appear to blend into the background, while portions of the mask he’s fitted with also look blurred, clearly suggesting that the image has been tampered with.
Moreover, Soch Fact Check observed that the image in question was not included in any credible news reports about Netanyahu’s surgery nor posted on the social media accounts of the Israeli PM’s office.
We also came across an 8 November 2023 post on X by BBC Verify journalist Shayan Sardarizadeh, who wrote that the photo “of Netanyahu on a hospital bed is AI-generated”.
Thread: Israel-Hamas war misinformation – Day 33
A TikTok video with 3 million views claims to show PM Benjamin Netanyahu suddenly hospitalised.
The image of Netanyahu on a hospital bed is AI-generated, and the Alghad TV news clip is from July, when he was briefly hospitalised. pic.twitter.com/GF1K6Vajzy
— Shayan Sardarizadeh (@Shayan86) November 8, 2023
Virality
Soch Fact Check found some significantly viral X posts, which can be viewed here, here, here, here, and here; they garnered over 5.5 million, 5 million, 918,400, 139,800, and 86,900 views, respectively.
On Facebook, the image was shared here, here, here, here, and here. It was also posted here and here on Instagram.
The photo also appeared on LinkedIn here, as well as on different websites here, here, and here.
Conclusion: The image is fake and most likely AI-generated.
Background image in cover photo: Netanyahu
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