Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Claim
Photo shows Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in critical condition after contracting a severe mutated strain of the coronavirus.
The archived version of the tweet can be seen here.
Fact
Newschecker first ran a keyword search for “Netanyahu coronavirus”, which did not throw up any credible news reports stating that the leader was critically ill after contracting the coronavirus.
We then ran a reverse image search, which led us to this photo, uploaded by Netanyahu’s Facebook page on October 6, 2015.
“My wife Sarah visited today at the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital Adele Bennett and her son Nathan, who were injured in the terror attack that happened in Jerusalem last Saturday night. My wife had a long conversation with Adele and her parents, asking her to tell them about the severe terror attack and strengthening her in dealing with the long and difficult process she was facing. My wife said that she will ask the state to provide any help to help the family…,” read the post, translated from Hebrew. A government press release on the attack can be seen here.
A comparison of the two images clearly shows that the original photo (left) was flipped horizontally and doctored to superimpose Netanyahu’s face over the patient’s. A similar report disproving the viral photo can be seen here.
Also Read: Fake ‘ABP-CVoter Opinion Poll’ For Andhra Pradesh Elections Goes Viral
Result: Altered Photo
Source
Facebook post, Benjamin Netanyahu, October 6, 2015
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Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
