Question Everything A Video So Real It Looks Fake
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Mar 26, 2026 Sofia Rubinson, senior editor who leads NewsGuard’s Reality Check and tracks viral disinformation. She walks through a widely shared claim about Benjamin Netanyahu, the viral café video some labeled an AI deepfake, and why detection tools and platforms amplified the lie. The conversation highlights rising realism in AI-generated content and how that reshapes what people believe online.
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Real Proof Of Life Was Turned Into Doubt
- Disinformation around Netanyahu combined death rumors with claims his café video was AI-generated, flipping a real proof-of-life into more doubt.
- Iranian state media and pro-Iran accounts pushed the AI claim despite the clip being posted on Netanyahu's official X account and matching on-site images.
Café Photos Undermined The Deepfake Claim
- Reuters and the café itself provided matching stock images and Instagram posts that confirmed Netanyahu was physically at the Setaf Café on March 15th.
- The café's Facebook post timestamped the visit and showed photos of him outside and buying coffee in the same outfit.
Detectors Amplified Misinformation Instead Of Stopping It
- Automated detectors and chatbots contributed to spreading the false AI narrative by giving definitive answers they couldn't verify.
- Grok on X and Hive's detector flagged the video as AI, amplifying doubt despite location and contextual evidence to the contrary.