Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shared a video on March 15 from a café in the Jerusalem Hills to respond to rumors about his death circulating online. The clip shows him making jokes while he orders coffee, and he requests viewers to count his fingers to prove that previous viral claims about him possessing six fingers in a video were false.
The post led to new conspiracy theories because an AI chatbot on X suggested that the video might be a deepfake. Fact-checking organizations later confirmed the effect was simply caused by lights and blurry screenshots. The claim quickly spread online and raised questions about whether the video was real or generated by artificial intelligence.
The confusion began after a video from a March 15 press conference started circulating online. The footage showed a shadow that fell on Netanyahu's palm, which created the illusion of an additional finger. The video contains several screenshots, which reached widespread distribution through social media platforms.
The images displayed a blurry appearance that increased the visibility of the shadow effect. The viewers reached the conclusion that the picture depicted a sixth finger.
Fact-checking organizations PolitiFact and Newsweek examined the footage and established that the claim was false. The analysis showed that the additional ‘finger’ appeared because of a shadow that was created by the lights during the press conference.
The researchers found that the viral screenshots had degraded visual quality compared to the original broadcast, which came from Israel's Government Office. The poor image quality made the shadow appear more like a real finger.
The speculation grew further after American commentator Candace Owens published the claim on her social media account. Her post quickly attracted attention, which enabled her to disseminate the conspiracy theory to a larger group of people.
She investigated whether artificial intelligence technology produced videos that had the potential to deceive audiences.
Experts say incidents like this show how quickly misinformation can spread online, especially during times of conflict. People tend to make speculative judgments based on unverified information when they have insufficient information.
The use of AI technology has increased user distrust of digital media because it creates situations where users reach incorrect judgments.
The viral six-finger video shows how basic visual effects can create major misunderstandings online. The uncommon image appeared because of lighting and shadow effects instead of artificial intelligence. The fact-checking organizations confirmed that the viral claim was false after their investigation.
The strange visual appeared because of two factors, which included lighting and image distortion. The incident shows that people need to check information through reliable sources before they accept or distribute viral content.