Video of Giorgia Meloni slapping Benjamin Netanyahu found to be AI-generated
Thai PBS Verify found the piece of malinformation on: X
A post claims to show Giorgia Meloni slapping Israeli Benjamin Netanyahu for asking her to take down the Palestinian flag she was wearing.
Thai PBS Verify found an image post with text on the platform X, published by a user named Abdullah Omar. Allegedly, it depicts Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni slapping Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the UN General Assembly, as he asked her to remove the Palestinian flag she wore. The post was published on April 30, 2026.
The caption under the images reads:
“Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni firmly refused to slap the Israeli Prime Minister for not taking down the Palestinian flag. We ask God to protect Meloni and grant her faith. Amen, Lord of the worlds.”
However, although the caption states that Ms. Meloni “refused to slap the Israeli Prime Minister,” the circulated images actually show her slapping him—directly contradicting the text. The post has already been viewed more than 476,000 times and has attracted a large number of comments.
PM Meloni did not slap PM Netanyahu
Thai PBS Verify analyzed the images with Google Lens and found the original video which had been shared on another X user named Iranian Force.
Google Lens search results matched a clip published the video on April 29, 2026 by another X account.
The video had been published on April 29, 2026, before the image post appeared. The original clip post includes the caption: “This video was made with AI. If it had happened in reality, it would have been amazing.”
The original video was already claimed as AI-generated.
In addition, after searching with the keyword “latest UN General Assembly”, the team found that the most recent UNGA session took place on September 24, 2025, in New York, USA. Both Ms. Meloni and Mr. Netanyahu attended that meeting.
In that meeting, Ms. Meloni addressed Israel in two points:
- Israel’s retaliation in Gaza had “crossed the line” and violated humanitarian norms, resulting in the mass killing of civilians.
- Italy would support certain EU sanctions against Israel, while emphasizing that “Hamas” was the party that initiated the war and must bear responsibility for the suffering of the Palestinian people.
Italian PM Giorgia Meloni’s statement during the UNGA meeting in September 2025.
However, no reports were found of the Italian Prime Minister physically assaulting her Israeli counterpart during that UNGA session.
In addition, when the clip was analyzed on Hive Moderation, the tool indicated that the material was AI-generated, with a probability score of 22.5%.
The verification results indicated that the content was AI-generated, with a 22.5-percent probability.
Meanwhile, another AI detection tool, Deepware.AI, flagged the video as suspicious.
Results from Deepware.AI indicated that the video was suspicious.
Additionally, Sora Detect suggested that the video contained AI-generated content at a level of 33.33%.
Sora Detect pointed out that the video contained AI‑generated content.
However, when the team examined the video by extracting keyframes with Invid-WeVerify to observe irregularities, several points of concern were identified, including:
Keyframe extraction on Invid-WeVerify.
- The appearance of another man resembling PM Benjamin Netanyahu
At the beginning of the clip, another man appears identical to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu (highlighted in the red frame).
- Distorted or incorrect text of the country name
The text on the country nameplate could not be spelled to identify any country, and the characters appeared distorted — a typical feature of AI-generated content.
- The abnormal appearance of additional people
In earlier frames, no one was seen sitting in the background. However, after the walk‑through, an image of a woman suddenly appeared abnormally (highlighted in the red frame).
- The Palestinian flag, when checked against the largest online vexillology database, was found to be missing the black stripe that should appear at the top of the flag.
The Palestinian flag in the video (yellow frame on the right) was found to be missing the black stripe at the top.
What is the truth?
The alleged incident of physical assault between the Italian and Israeli leaders never took place. The clip is AI-generated content, with the intent to mislead or for satirical entertainment. Although Ms. Giorgia Meloni had strongly criticized Israel’s policies at the UN in 2025, there was never any physical confrontation as claimed in the video.
Verification Process
1) Verification of the primary source: It was found that the X account named Iranian Force was among the first to publish the clip, with a clear caption stating “This video was made with AI” before other accounts re-edited the caption to make it appear real.
2) AI detection tools:
- Hive Moderation: Detected traces of AI generation.
- Sora Detect: Indicated 33.33% AI-generated content.
- Deepware.AI: Flagged the video as suspicious.
3) Keyframe analysis (Invid-WeVerify): Frame-by-frame inspection revealed typical AI artifacts:
- Duplicate faces: Multiple Netanyahu-like figures appearing in the same frame.
- Distorted text: Country names in the background were unreadable.
- Incorrect Palestinian flag: The top black stripe was missing, contradicting vexillology standards.
4) Verification of official records: No reports from major global news agencies about such an incident were found in the records of the latest UNGA session.
Potential impacts of malinformation
- International conflict: It may cause misunderstandings at the level of diplomatic relations and fuel hatred toward both leaders.
- Platform credibility: The post gained over 4.7 million views, showing that false information can spread faster than the truth, and many people are ready to believe it if it aligns with their political attitudes.
- Undermining the value of AI: When AI is used to create overly realistic scenarios, it may make it increasingly difficult for the public to distinguish between fact and fabrication in the future.
What to do with this misinformation?
- Observe gestures in the clip: If it is a major global event, mainstream outlets (eg. Reuters, AP, BBC) would report it immediately. If it only appears on social media, assume it is likely fake news.
- Look for AI artifacts: Watch for common AI mistakes such as distorted fingers, unreadable text in the background, or anomalies in national flags.
- Use reverse image search: Capture frames from the video and run them through Google Lens to trace the true origin.
- Stop sharing and warn others: Once identified as fake, do not share further. If possible, leave a warning under the post to prevent others from being misled.
