JERUSALEM — A diplomatic firestorm has erupted on social media after X’s AI chatbot, Grok, incorrectly flagged a video of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “satirical AI-generated content.” The video, intended to quash persistent rumors of Netanyahu’s death, featured US Ambassador Mike Huckabee, who personally stepped in to fact-check the bot.
The “Punch Card” Proof of Life
In the clip posted Tuesday, Netanyahu is seen meeting with Ambassador Huckabee to dismiss viral conspiracy theories claiming he was killed in recent Iranian missile strikes.
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The Exchange: Huckabee jokes that President Donald Trump sent him to “make sure you were okay.” Netanyahu mockingly replies, “Yes, Mike. I’m alive,” before pointedly wiggling his fingers at the camera—a jab at previous “six-finger” deepfake allegations.
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The “Punch Card”: Netanyahu produces a physical card, claiming he “erased two names” that day—referring to the reported eliminations of Iranian leaders Ali Larijani and Gholamreza Soleimani.
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Strategic Message: The leaders emphasized a “shoulder-to-shoulder” alliance against “lunatics” seeking nuclear weapons.
Grok’s Conflicting Verdicts
Despite the high-profile nature of the meeting, Grok provided contradictory answers to users:
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The Fail: To one user, Grok claimed the video was “satirical AI-generated content” and that the dialogue was “fabricated.”
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The Correction: To another, it correctly identified it as “authentic, real-world footage,” citing natural walking gaits and realistic facial expressions.
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The Pushback: Ambassador Huckabee directly replied to the false claim, writing: “Sorry, Grok. You blew it. It was very much a real meeting… I should know. I was there. No AI on this at all!”
The Context of Misinformation
The Israeli leader has been forced into a series of “proof of life” appearances—including a visit to a Jerusalem cafe where he joked he was “dying for coffee”—following a week of intense speculation. While skeptics pointed to “disappearing rings” and “height distortions” in various clips, multiple deepfake detection experts have found no evidence of AI manipulation in the official footage.
