Netanyahu Posts ‘Proof of Life’ Video as A.I. Sows Doubts About What’s Real
The unusual video is the latest demonstration that artificial intelligence is undermining trust — even in footage that is authentic.
Rumors of Benjamin Netanyahu’s death were greatly exaggerated.
Mr. Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, was alive and well when he filmed an address to the Israeli people and posted it to social media on Friday. But the video was rapidly dismissed by some online accounts, many with ties to Iran, as an artificial-intelligence-generated fake meant to deceive the world about Mr. Netanyahu’s well-being.
Did his hands, for instance, have six fingers on them, a once-common tell for A.I. fakes? Many users seemed to spot a sixth digit and were undeterred by fact-checkers finding otherwise.
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