Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted another video of his meeting with US Ambassador Mike Huckabee — an apparent proof of him “being alive” — even as social media continue to debate conspiracy theories regarding the Israeli leader amid the ongoing conflict with Iran.
In the video shared on Tuesday, Netanyahu was seen having a conversation with the US envoy reiterating, “I am alive” and “shaking hands with five fingers”.
Netanyahu’s latest social media post is the fourth such social media post showing him addressing an online briefing, visit to a coffee shop, and interaction with Israeli locals in a bid to address rumours that he had been killed.
In the video, Huckabee said, “Mr Prime Minister, I want you to know the President (Donald Trump) asked me to come and make sure you were okay.”
Netanyahu, in his response, said, “Yes, Mike. Yes, I’m alive.” To which the US envoy said, “I checked that and I’m happy to see that, but he wanted to make sure because, you know, you guys get along too well.”
Netanyahu mockingly responds saying, “I know, and we shake hands with five fingers in each hand” — in an apparent reference to his video which the social media flagged as AI generated — “But I have to tell you, I’m alive, but I have this card. And yeah, don’t read it. So it’s a punch card. Today, I erased two names on the punch cards, and you see how many more to go on this batch.”
The elimination of “two names” in “punch card” was an apparent reference to two top Iranian officials — Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and General Gholam Reza Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force — which Israel claimed to have killed on Monday.
Rumours regarding Netanyahu and four videos so far
False rumours claiming that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was killed in an Iranian missile strike was doing rounds on social media. What added to the rumour was a screenshot of Netanyahu’s recent press conference which social media claimed was a deepfake generated by Artificial Intelligence.
Social media users pointed to an apparent “sixth finger” visible on the Israeli PM’s right hand. The “sixth finger” claim gained traction online, inviting responses from internet users and influencers.
Netanyahu’s son Yair, who is normally active on social media platform X, also appeared to go silent, adding to speculations. Photos purportedly showing Netanyahu injured, generated using AI, also emerged online.
Amid the rumours, Netanyahu appeared in a video on X on Sunday to directly address rumours of his death. A cup in hand at a cafe, he says in between sips, “They say I’m what?”. He goes on to flash his hands to show he has five fingers, and not six as was theorised by social media users who said his earlier video was “AI-generated”.
In the video, Netanyahu asks someone behind the camera, “What did you ask me?” The person responds, “Prime Minister, they say on the internet that you are dead”, to which he responds: “I’m dying for coffee… Do you want to count the number of fingers?”
He released another video of himself interacting with people amid death rumours.
