Opinion | Netanyahu Rumours: Why AI's Ability To Make Us Doubt Reality Is A Bigger Problem

A section of social media users claimed that the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, was dead. And then, the AI games began.

Media theorists, technologists, and philosophers have been talking about the pros and cons of AI-generated content for quite a long time now. Constructing a false narrative, or fake news, is now easy. What was once done by special-effects experts in Hollywood, including the creation of hyper-realistic videos of unreal events and synthetic voice changes, can now be done by anyone using widely accessible software. And people are doing it. Fake war footage and staged political speech visuals frequently go viral, only to be debunked later. Viral clips and news on social media are now met with immediate scepticism.

Last week, another interesting episode occurred, revealing yet another challenge posed by AI. This, too, was a piece of fake news. A section of social media users claimed that the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, was dead. At first, it appeared to be a silly rumour—a piece of conspiracy theory. But soon, the rumour gained traction, and those who circulated the claim began presenting “supporting evidence" for it. The Prime Minister had been absent from public appearances, and his son had remained mysteriously silent on Twitter. These observations, though weak on their own, were framed as if they were sound proof of the claim.

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As the rumour spread, it began to sound credible to many, not because of strong evidence, but mainly because of the conviction of those presenting it, as well as repetition and speculation. In the absence of verified information, speculation took over. As is often the case with social media, uncertainty was exploited by some as fertile ground for spreading misinformation.

Just when the rumour started gaining momentum, Israeli........

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