Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Dec 03, 2025

Warnings on social media as 'manipulated' photos and videos about Israel-Gaza conflict go viral

Warnings on social media as 'manipulated' photos and videos about Israel-Gaza conflict go viral

Misleading videos shared by a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been viewed over 300,000 times.

As violence between Israeli and Palestinian groups worsens, misinformation relating to both sides is spreading on social media.

Twitter placed a "media manipulation" warning on a tweet by Ofir Gendelman, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that was shared with his 97,000 followers.

The tweet in question featured a 28-second video that claimed to show Hamas firing rockets towards Israel during the latest round of violence - footage he said was evidence of a "war crime".

However, it has since emerged that the video in question is at least two years old.

Mr Gendelman shared the tweet with his 97,000 followers


Mr Gendelman's tweet, written in Arabic and posted on Tuesday morning, had said: "Here's more clear evidence that terrorist militia Hamas deliberately fires rockets from inside residential neighbourhoods in Gaza. This is a terrible war crime.

"A third of rockets fired at Israel fall inside Gaza killing civilians and children."

With the words "#Gaza now" written across it in red in English and Arabic, the video captures 17 rockets firing one after the other from an area next to the building the camera is recording from.

Three further rockets are then fired from slightly further away followed by another explosion in the same area.

However, reverse image searching of the clip showed it was posted on YouTube in 2018 - and the description says it was filmed in the Syrian city of Daraa. The tweet has since been deleted.

This is a screenshot of the same video on YouTube in 2018


Twitter placed a warning on Mr Gendelman's tweet before it was deleted, identifying it as "media manipulation".

The social media giant's policy states that it places this warning on content when they have reason to believe that "media or the context in which that media is presented are significantly and deceptively altered or manipulated".

This is a screenshot of the TikTok video shared on Twitter by Mr Gendelman


Mr Gendelman also shared another video - this time from TikTok.

The caption translates to: "Hamas, as usual, is trying to mislead the media and public opinion by staging fabricated plays, and now it has shown young men alive as if they were corpses, but their efforts are not convincing and the bodies are moving. We expose the lies of Hamas!"

However, a search for the TikTok account watermarked on the video shows that this clip was posted back in March.

The user's profile states that they are based in Nazareth, but there is no apparent evidence of a connection to Hamas.

The account mostly shares videos of the user riding on motorcycles and in off-road cars.

This is a screenshot of a photo shared on Facebook


Fake news is also being shared against Israel.

A controversial Kashmiri cleric shared this photo, which he says depicts a journalist crying outside al Aqsa mosque.

The mosque was where the fierce clashes between police and protesters that sparked the recent escalation took place.

The photo was shared in 2019 on the Asian Cup football tournament's Twitter page


However, the picture was taken during the Asian Cup football tournament in 2019.

Facebook has flagged the cleric's post as "false information".

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK Plans Major Cutback to Jury Trials as Crown Court Backlog Nears 80,000
UK Government to Significantly Limit Jury Trials in England and Wales
U.S. and U.K. Seal Drug-Pricing Deal: Britain Agrees to Pay More, U.S. Lifts Tariffs
UK Postpones Decision Yet Again on China’s Proposed Mega-Embassy in London
Head of UK Budget Watchdog Resigns After Premature Leak of Reeves’ Budget Report
Car-sharing giant Zipcar to exit UK market by end of 2025
Reports of Widespread Drone Deployment Raise Privacy and Security Questions in the UK
UK Signals Security Concerns Over China While Pursuing Stronger Trade Links
Google warns of AI “irrationality” just as Gemini 3 launch rattles markets
Top Consultancies Freeze Starting Salaries as AI Threatens ‘Pyramid’ Model
Macron Says Washington Pressuring EU to Delay Enforcement of Digital-Regulation Probes Against Meta, TikTok and X
UK’s DragonFire Laser Downs High-Speed Drones as £316m Deal Speeds Naval Deployment
UK Chancellor Rejects Claims She Misled Public on Fiscal Outlook Ahead of Budget
Starmer Defends Autumn Budget as Finance Chief Faces Accusations of Misleading Public Finances
EU Firms Struggle with 3,000-Hour Paperwork Load — While Automakers Fear De Facto 2030 Petrol Car Ban
White House launches ‘Hall of Shame’ site to publicly condemn media outlets for alleged bias
UK Budget’s New EV Mileage Tax Undercuts Case for Plug-In Hybrids
UK Government Launches National Inquiry into ‘Grooming Gangs’ After US Warning and Rising Public Outcry
Taylor Swift Extends U.K. Chart Reign as ‘The Fate of Ophelia’ Hits Six Weeks at No. 1
250 Still Missing in the Massive Fire, 94 Killed. One Day After the Disaster: Survivor Rescued on the 16th Floor
Trump: National Guard Soldier Who Was Shot in Washington Has Died; Second Soldier Fighting for His Life
UK Chancellor Reeves Defends Tax Rises as Essential to Reduce Child Poverty and Stabilise Public Finances
No Evidence Found for Claim That UK Schools Are Shifting to Teaching American English
European Powers Urge Israel to Halt West Bank Settler Violence Amid Surge in Attacks
"I Would Have Given Her a Kidney": She Lent Bezos’s Ex-Wife $1,000 — and Received Millions in Return
European States Approve First-ever Military-Grade Surveillance Network via ESA
UK to Slash Key Pension Tax Perk, Targeting High Earners Under New Budget
UK Government Announces £150 Annual Cut to Household Energy Bills Through Levy Reforms
UK Court Hears Challenge to Ban on Palestine Action as Critics Decry Heavy-Handed Measures
Investors Rush Into UK Gilts and Sterling After Budget Eases Fiscal Concerns
UK to Raise Online Betting Taxes by £1.1 Billion Under New Budget — Firms Warn of Fallout
Lamine Yamal? The ‘Heir to Messi’ Lost to Barcelona — and the Kingdom Is in a Frenzy
Warner Music Group Drops Suit Against Suno, Launches Licensed AI-Music Deal
HP to Cut up to 6,000 Jobs Globally as It Ramps Up AI Integration
MediaWorld Sold iPad Air for €15 — Then Asked Customers to Return Them or Pay More
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer Promises ‘Full-Time’ Education for All Children as School Attendance Slips
UK Extends Sugar Tax to Sweetened Milkshakes and Lattes in 2028 Health Push
UK Government Backs £49 Billion Plan for Heathrow Third Runway and Expansion
UK Gambling Firms Report £1bn Surge in Annual Profits as Pressure Mounts for Higher Betting Taxes
UK Shares Advance Ahead of Budget as Financials and Consumer Staples Lead Gains
Domino’s UK CEO Andrew Rennie Steps Down Amid Strategic Reset
UK Economy Stalls as Reeves Faces First Budget Test
UK Economy’s Weak Start Adds Pressure on Prime Minister Starmer
UK Government Acknowledges Billionaire Exodus Amid Tax Rise Concerns
UK Budget 2025: Markets Brace as Chancellor Faces Fiscal Tightrope
UK Unveils Strategic Plan to Secure Critical Mineral Supply Chains
UK Taskforce Calls for Radical Reset of Nuclear Regulation to Cut Costs and Accelerate Build
UK Government Launches Consultation on Major Overhaul of Settlement Rules
Google Struggles to Meet AI Demand as Infrastructure, Energy and Supply-Chain Gaps Deepen
Car Parts Leader Warns Europe Faces Heavy Job Losses in ‘Darwinian’ Auto Shake-Out
×