A widely circulated video on social media platforms, including TikTok, X, and Instagram, has been definitively debunked as a fabrication. The clip purports to show Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni turning her back on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, refusing a handshake in what appears to be a UN-style auditorium. This content is entirely false and was created using artificial intelligence.
Fact-checkers submitted the video to HiveModeration, a tool for detecting AI-generated media. The analysis returned a 76% probability that the material was synthetically produced. Frame-by-frame examination revealed telltale distortions common in AI content. For instance, the UN symbols on the wall lacked clear contours, and the country name placards on the tables were blurry, with only the one reading "Italia" being conveniently sharp. Additionally, the scarf worn by the Meloni figure exhibited color changes—adding a green stripe—after she turned away.
The video's captions falsely claimed Meloni ignored Netanyahu, calling Israel a killer of innocent children. This narrative gained traction during a period of documented friction between Italy, Israel, and the United States over the Middle East conflict. While Meloni's right-wing government has traditionally been allied with Israel, recent events have strained relations.
In early 2025, Italy saw widespread protests against Israeli military operations in Gaza. The Italian government publicly described the offensive as "disproportional," though it stopped short of recognizing Palestinian statehood. Tensions escalated further following U.S. military action against Iran in February 2025, which Meloni criticized as undertaken without consulting European allies.
The diplomatic rift deepened in April 2025. On April 8, Italy demanded explanations from Israel after shots were fired at an Italian UN convoy in Lebanon. Subsequently, after U.S. President Donald Trump made critical remarks about Pope Leo XIV and Meloni herself, the Italian Prime Minister responded forcefully. On April 14, she announced the suspension of Italy's automatic renewal of a defense cooperation agreement with Israel, which covered military equipment and technology research.
Despite these tensions, Meloni later welcomed a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah announced by the U.S. on April 16, emphasizing the importance of upholding the truce for peace. The fake video, however, exploited this complex geopolitical backdrop to create a misleading and inflammatory scene that never occurred.
Based on reporting from g1.