Welcome to Reality Check, NewsGuard’s nonpartisan newsletter that tracks the false claims and conspiracy theories that shape our world — and who’s behind them.
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What’s happening: We often report on misinformers and other hoaxsters using AI to fabricate false images and videos. Now, NewsGuard is monitoring the opposite, but no less insidious phenomenon: claims that a visual was created by AI when in fact, it’s authentic.
In the latest example, anti-Israel and pro-Iran social media accounts are falsely claiming that a video posted to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s X page on March 15, 2026, is AI-generated. The claim is part of a baseless narrative that Netanyahu was killed or gravely injured in the ongoing conflict with Iran.
In fact, the video is authentic, a detailed NewsGuard analysis found.
Context: Since last week, Iranian state media and pro-Iran social media accounts have claimed that Netanyahu was killed or injured in an Iranian missile strike, Reality Check reported. The claims appear to be a propaganda effort to counter the confirmed deaths of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other high-level Iranian officials as a result of U.S.-Israel attacks.
A closer look: In an apparent response to the claims about his death,...
Welcome to Reality Check, NewsGuard’s nonpartisan newsletter that tracks the false claims and conspiracy theories that shape our world — and who’s behind them. Creating AI-generated fakes is chea...