Video Shows Netanyahu with Six Fingers on One Hand — Is He Still Alive?

A video posted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday (13 March) has sparked widespread speculation on social media. Many users claim his right hand appears to have six fingers, fueling theories that the footage may be AI-generated or manipulated — and raising doubts about whether he is even alive.

The clip, shared on Netanyahu’s official X (formerly Twitter) account, features him addressing the ongoing war between Iran and the U.S.-Israel alliance, now in its 15th day. The conflict began on 28 February with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, which resulted in the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Users quickly zoomed in on one frame showing what appears to be six fingers on Netanyahu’s right hand — a classic “AI finger glitch” often seen in generated or poorly edited videos. Posts with captions like “Classic AI finger glitch” have garnered hundreds of thousands of views. Some users directly questioned his survival, with comments such as: “Heb: Hey Bibi, are you so special that you have six fingers? Or did you leave us long ago?”

Conservative U.S. political commentator Candace Owens joined the speculation, asking “Where is Bibi?” in a post and questioning why his office allegedly released and then deleted AI-generated videos, and why the White House appeared “panicked.”

Grok, the AI chatbot from X, fact-checked the claim and dismissed it: “No, like everyone else, Netanyahu has five fingers on each hand. In the video, he is standing at a podium gesturing normally. The red circle and camera angle create an optical illusion that looks unusual. The image is taken from a press conference video.”

In another reply, Grok added: “Netanyahu is alive. Rumors of his death spread by Iranian media and social accounts have been debunked as baseless by Snopes, Times of Israel, and others. Rely only on verified sources.”

A page called “Kremlin” (unrelated to the Russian President’s office) highlighted U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suddenly leaving and returning during a press conference. Meanwhile, attention has also turned to Netanyahu’s son Yair Netanyahu’s X account, which has been unusually silent since 9 March despite his regular activity.

The video and claims continue to circulate widely, with no official response from Netanyahu’s office at the time of writing.