My wife Lori is one of the most astute observers of the American political and cultural scene that I know. In addition to being well-read and plugged into social media, she’s also a Baylor University journalism graduate (back when the J-school in Waco actually taught objective reporting rather than trafficking in absurd Trump- bashing hysteria.) She is not, therefore, prone to spending a lot of time on wild, unsubstantiated rumors from online kooks.

But Saturday evening, she informed me that social media posts and online chatter were “blowing up everywhere” with stories that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been killed in attacks by Iran and that videos were circulating everywhere that purported to show Bibi’s family grieving over his death. (One other post stated that Vladimir Putin had also tweeted that Netanyahu was dead.)

Personally, I would entrust second-hand reports about tweets Putin had made with more credibility than on-air updates from CNN. But that’s a story for another column.

I began scouring online sources…and I didn’t have to look very far. One video—featuring on-camera a breathless man in a black fedora hat, which observant Jews sport—showed “Tel Aviv” ablaze after missiles landed throughout the city, “because the air defenses over Tel Aviv are no longer operational.” He added that “The Iranians are hitting at will with the most powerful ballistic missiles. 50 ballistic missiles hit Tel Aviv last evening alone.”

The goofball in this video—purporting to be breaking........

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