AI website claims Benjamin Netanyahu’s psychiatrist committed suicide

An AI-generated news website spread a false claim that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s alleged psychiatrist died by suicide.

The false article, which stated that psychiatrist 'Dr Moshe Yatom' had left behind a 'devastating suicide note that implicated' Netanyahu, seems to have originated early November 2023 on Pakistani news website Global Village Space, and quickly went viral across social media in multiple languages.

NewsGuard had earlier found that GlobalVillageSpace.com was one of 37 sites using AI to rewrite content without credit from mainstream news sources, including The New York Times. 

The incident occurred during the 2023 Israel-Hamas war, and demonstrated how generative AI tools are being weaponised to spread misinformation and disinformation with potential geo-political ramifications.

Research, advocacy 🧮

• NewsGuard (2023). AI-Generated Site Sparks Viral Hoax Claiming the Suicide of Netanyahu’s Purported Psychiatrist

Fact check 🚩

• Lead Stories (2023). Fact Check: False Claim That Netanyahu's Psychiatrist Committed Suicide Is Recirculated 2010 'Satire' Post

News, commentary, analysis 🗞️

• https://telewebion.com/episode/0x9a02dde