‘Nice Try’: Benjamin Netanyahu’s latest video is AI-generated, social media users allege; Grok claims it’s deepfake

Benjamin Netanyahu has hit back at viral rumours about his death. The Israeli Prime Minister has shared a sarcastic video posted on his official Twitter (now X) account.

In the clip, Netanyahu is seen receiving a cup of coffee at a cafe outside Jerusalem. "I'm dead for coffee," he says. He uses a colloquial Hebrew expression meaning he loves something deeply, which seems to be a clear dig at the death rumours.

He then holds up his hands to the camera and asks viewers if they want to count his fingers. It is a direct reference to social media claims that his recent televised address was generated by AI.

The Israeli PM appeared to have six fingers in the previous video, sparking speculation about its authenticity.

Then, Benjamin Netanyahu urges Israeli citizens to follow safety instructions during rocket alerts. He says their resilience strengthens the government, the army and the Mossad.

He says, "We are doing things that I cannot share at this moment. We are striking Iran very hard, and also Lebanon."

Is Netanyahu’s latest video AI-generated?

However, this video is also under the scanner. North Korea TV shared the video and wrote: “AI experts confirm that this video is artificial intelligence–generated, using an advanced new version that has not even been released to the public yet.”

When curious social media users asked Grok to verify the video's authenticity, the AI chatbot claimed it was generated by artificial intelligence.

“It's AI-generated. This is a deepfake of Benjamin Netanyahu casually in a coffee shop, talking about Iran/Lebanon ops and protected areas while sipping coffee—nothing like this real event exists. The original post explicitly calls it advanced unreleased AI,” Grok replied.

However, Grok was not the only one to claim that it was an AI video. One of the users commented, “Got some serious questions about the validity of this blatantly obvious AI video.”

“Magical pocket… Coffee in the cup defying gravity… Customer with a mask behind the counter. Nice Try…..NOTenyahu,” the user wrote while sharing close-up shots of the video.

“Why has this person a mask and glasses in the cafeteria?” wondered another user while referring to a man in the video.

Another user wrote, “One of the things that I noticed in this AI video is how the shape of Netanyahu's face changes after looking down at the coffee. At first, it was round, and then it changed to a more oval shape.”