Deepfake Meloni clips distort relations between Italy and Israel
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Several viral deepfake clips have spread online with misleading claims about Italy’s relationship with Israel.
A raft of AI-generated and out-of-context videos has circulated online in recent weeks, misrepresenting Italy's relationship with Israel.
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Two clips have been widely shared on social media platforms Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram with misleading and false captions, with users overstating that relations between the two have severely deteriorated when they were once strong.
One of the clips, which garnered thousands of views across platforms, depicts Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni snubbing a handshake from her Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, during a UN meeting.
Meloni, draped in a Palestinian flag, then walks out of the room.
Multiple users online claim this video is representative of a breakdown in Italian and Israeli relations, but this video is AI-generated and has several visual inconsistencies, including nonsensical Arabic writing on the scarf.
Other AI-generated clips show the same scene without Arabic script on the scarf, which changes colour as Meloni walks away.
Another clip, which also contains visual inconsistencies, shows Meloni shouting in a room full of people before throwing documents into the air and storming out.
A reverse image search indicates this clip appears to have been digitally manipulated from photographs of Meloni attending the AI Safety Summit in London in November 2023, where she wore the same outfit.
Captions attached to this clip misleadingly state that Italy has "terminated all agreements with Israel."
However, this is a gross overstatement: in April, Italy announced it would not be renewing its defence agreement with Israel.
The agreement, which was previously renewed every five years, centred on the exchange of military equipment and technology research.
Despite suspending this agreement, Italy still has multiple bilateral agreements with Israel.
Additionally, later in April, Italy and Germany actually rejected calls from other EU member states to suspend the bloc's co-operation agreement with Israel.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani pushed back on suspending the agreement, which provides Israel with preferential access to the EU market for certain goods, telling reporters that "no decision will be taken."
Protest videos taken out of context
As deepfake videos of Meloni circulated, an old video re-emerged on X without accurate context, claiming to depict a general strike in solidarity with Gaza across several Italian towns and cities.
The posts shared a video published by Turkish TV digital news platform TRHaber showing significant unrest and clashes between police and protesters in Milan.
This footage is actually from 2025, when protesters clashed with police officers at Milan's Central railway station during a nationwide strike organised by trade unions in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
The captions on the videos say that "Italy just shut down for Palestine" and describe clashes between the police and protesters.
Italian trade union Unione Sindacale di Base has called for a general strike on 18 May in solidarity with Gaza. Still, the strike has not happened yet, meaning it is unknown whether there will be clashes between police and potential protesters.
It's not the first time Meloni has been the target of viral misinformation and AI-generated deepfake videos.
Meloni herself has criticised AI-generated images bearing her likeness, such as one of her depicted in lingerie, which was widely shared online and criticised by users who falsely believed it to be real.
"The issue goes beyond me," she said in a post on X. "Deepfakes are a dangerous tool, because they can deceive, manipulate and target anyone. I can defend myself. Many others cannot."
"For this reason, one rule should always apply: verify before believing, and think before sharing. Because today it happens to me, tomorrow it could happen to anyone," she added.
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