Claim: Video shows French President Emmanuel Macron criticising Israel regarding the on-going Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
Fact: The video is AI-generated.
On 9 October, X user @DrEliDavid posted a video (archive) apparently showing Emmanuel Macron criticising Israel. He wrote: “Congratulations to Macron for his new position as H×mas spokesperson.”
In the footage, Macron is criticising Israel for its ongoing war in Gaza that has killed at least 41,000 Palestinians, the majority of whom are women and children.
“Israeli army is using starvation as an instrument of war and that’s why the UNICEF has been warning the last few days that 50,000 children are now at risk of death,” Macron says in the video.
“Israel is enjoying the utmost amount of impunity, the utmost amount of support, while it is committing this terrible massacre. Those who are now committing three war crimes in parallel: genocide, ethnic cleansing and collective punishment, including starvation of children and women and civilians,” he added.
The video was likely created to mock Macron’s recent stance about stopping arms deliveries to Israel.
Emmanuel Macron’s stance on Gaza War
In early October, the French President Emmanuel Macron called for halting arm deliveries to Israel which have been used in the war in Gaza. He also criticised Israel on its ground invasion of Lebanon, and said an escalation should be avoided.
His remarks drew sharp criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “who called them a disgrace,” according to Al Jazeera.
Macron also criticised Israel’s targeting of UN peacekeepers in Lebanon. “Mr Netanyahu must not forget that his country was created by a decision of the UN,” he said, “therefore this is not the time to disregard the decisions of the UN.”
The United Nations has repeatedly called for the safety of its peacekeepers in Lebanon after Israel’s ground invasion began, which has left five peacekeepers injured. Israel’s airstrikes and invasion have killed at least 2,700 in Lebanon, according to the BBC.
The UN said that Israel’s “attacks against peacekeepers are in breach of international law, including international humanitarian law. They may constitute a war crime.”
Macron also said that France is a “steadfast friend of Israel,” but added that Netanyahu’s reaction was “excessive and detached from the friendship between France and Israel.”
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check noticed the video on X was credited to the user @Kurdish_AI (archive). According to the user’s bio Kurdish AI is an “Artificial Intelligence Developer, Software Engineer & Content Creator.” An analysis of his X handle posts also revealed that he has created satirical videos of political leaders in the past, such as one of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei singing and another of former US President Donald Trump speaking in Arabic. The video in question similarly appears to be mocking Macron with the label of “Hamas spokesman Macron Hamdan.”
This video of Macron, too, has all the signs of AI-generated content. His right eye looks unnatural and seems to be reflecting light, whereas the left eye appears smaller and darker. Most importantly, his figure seems to be plastered artificially against the green background which has the Hamas logo and the following words on it: “Tufan al-Aqsa [The Flood of Al-Aqsa],” an operation by Hamas on 7 October 2024.
The Hamas’ logo suggests that Macron is a Hamas supporter. But he has time and again criticised Hamas and its 7 October 2024 attacks, that started the Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza. In an interview to the BBC in November 2023, Macron said that “France ‘clearly condemns’ Hamas’s attacks on Israel.” He has also called for the release of all hostages held by Hamas since the 7 October attack. He termed the same attack as the “biggest antisemitic massacre of our century” and described the Hamas’ attacks as acts of “barbarism.”
Moreover, the microphones from different news organisations in front of Macron look like digital filters or stickers that were superimposed on the footage, further indicating that the video was altered or artificially created.
Finally, to rule out the possibility that the French President made such a statement, we also conducted a keyword search but did not find any news reports about Macron releasing this exact video statement in criticism of Israel.
Soch Fact Check, therefore, concludes the video of Macron is AI-generated.
Virality
The X post garnered 186,400 views and was liked 9,300 times.
It also appeared on X here and here.
Conclusion: The video of Emmanuel Macron criticising Israel and its war in Gaza is AI-generated.
Background image in cover photo: Economic Times
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