FACT CHECK: X Image Showing Netanyahu With Trump And Musk Is AI-Generated
An image shared on X purports to show Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Prime minister Netanyahu meets with President Trump and Elon Musk pic.twitter.com/GKfSHADg75
— Adam Milstein (@AdamMilstein) February 3, 2025
Verdict: False
A content detection scan indicates the image has been generated with artificial intelligence (AI). An AI expert denied the image’s authenticity in an email to Check Your Fact.
Fact Check:
Trump said the U.S. “will take over” the Gaza Strip during a joint press conference with Netanyahu on Wednesday, according to CNN. Netanyahu is currently visiting Washington, D.C., and will return to Israel on Feb. 8, Reuters reported, citing Axios.
The X image, viewed over 5,000 times as of writing, purports to show Netanyahu with Trump and Musk. “Prime minister Netanyahu meets with President Trump and Elon Musk,” the image’s caption reads.
In the image, the three men, dressed in dark suits, appear to pose for a photo at an event. Netanyahu and Musk stand on either side of Trump.
The claim is false, as the image is AI-generated. Check Your Fact performed a content detection scan using the website “Hive Moderation,” and the results indicate the image is 90.4% likely to have been generated with AI. According to the results of the same scan, Midjourney is the program that was probably used to create the image.
Screenshot captured via Hive Moderation
Likewise, Check Your Fact did not find the image referenced on Trump’s personal or government X accounts, his TRUTH Social account, or his verified social media accounts. Neither Netanyahu nor Musk have publicly commented on the image.
In addition, Check Your Fact found no credible news reports to support the claim. Actually, the opposite is true. On Feb. 5, Misbar debunked the claim, reporting the image is AI-generated. (RELATED: Video Claims To Show Palestinian Woman Resisting Israeli Attempt To Bulldoze Her Home)
Furthermore, Dr. Walter Scheirer, an AI expert at the University of Notre Dame, denied the image’s authenticity in an email to Check Your Fact.
“This image is very likely the product of a generative AI algorithm. The people in the background are poorly rendered, especially the two people in the background between Netanyahu and Trump, who appear to be missing faces. Such a problem is a characteristic artifact of generative AI,” Scheirer said.
