London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jan 22, 2026

Warnings on social media as 'manipulated' photos and videos about Israel-Gaza conflict go viral

Warnings on social media as 'manipulated' photos and videos about Israel-Gaza conflict go viral

Misleading videos shared by a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been viewed over 300,000 times.

As violence between Israeli and Palestinian groups worsens, misinformation relating to both sides is spreading on social media.

Twitter placed a "media manipulation" warning on a tweet by Ofir Gendelman, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that was shared with his 97,000 followers.

The tweet in question featured a 28-second video that claimed to show Hamas firing rockets towards Israel during the latest round of violence - footage he said was evidence of a "war crime".

However, it has since emerged that the video in question is at least two years old.

Mr Gendelman shared the tweet with his 97,000 followers


Mr Gendelman's tweet, written in Arabic and posted on Tuesday morning, had said: "Here's more clear evidence that terrorist militia Hamas deliberately fires rockets from inside residential neighbourhoods in Gaza. This is a terrible war crime.

"A third of rockets fired at Israel fall inside Gaza killing civilians and children."

With the words "#Gaza now" written across it in red in English and Arabic, the video captures 17 rockets firing one after the other from an area next to the building the camera is recording from.

Three further rockets are then fired from slightly further away followed by another explosion in the same area.

However, reverse image searching of the clip showed it was posted on YouTube in 2018 - and the description says it was filmed in the Syrian city of Daraa. The tweet has since been deleted.

This is a screenshot of the same video on YouTube in 2018


Twitter placed a warning on Mr Gendelman's tweet before it was deleted, identifying it as "media manipulation".

The social media giant's policy states that it places this warning on content when they have reason to believe that "media or the context in which that media is presented are significantly and deceptively altered or manipulated".

This is a screenshot of the TikTok video shared on Twitter by Mr Gendelman


Mr Gendelman also shared another video - this time from TikTok.

The caption translates to: "Hamas, as usual, is trying to mislead the media and public opinion by staging fabricated plays, and now it has shown young men alive as if they were corpses, but their efforts are not convincing and the bodies are moving. We expose the lies of Hamas!"

However, a search for the TikTok account watermarked on the video shows that this clip was posted back in March.

The user's profile states that they are based in Nazareth, but there is no apparent evidence of a connection to Hamas.

The account mostly shares videos of the user riding on motorcycles and in off-road cars.

This is a screenshot of a photo shared on Facebook


Fake news is also being shared against Israel.

A controversial Kashmiri cleric shared this photo, which he says depicts a journalist crying outside al Aqsa mosque.

The mosque was where the fierce clashes between police and protesters that sparked the recent escalation took place.

The photo was shared in 2019 on the Asian Cup football tournament's Twitter page


However, the picture was taken during the Asian Cup football tournament in 2019.

Facebook has flagged the cleric's post as "false information".

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Prince William to Make Official Visit to Saudi Arabia in February
Prince Harry Breaks Down in London Court, Says UK Tabloids Have Made Meghan Markle’s Life ‘Absolute Misery’
Malin + Goetz UK Business Enters Administration, All Stores Close
EU and UK Reject Trump’s Greenland-Linked Tariff Threats and Pledge Unified Response
UK Deepfake Crackdown Puts Intense Pressure on Musk’s Grok AI After Surge in Non-Consensual Explicit Images
Prince Harry Becomes Emotional in London Court, Invokes Memory of Princess Diana in Testimony Against UK Tabloids
UK Inflation Rises Unexpectedly but Interest Rate Cuts Still Seen as Likely
AI vs Work: The Battle Over Who Controls the Future of Labor
Buying an Ally’s Territory: Strategic Genius or Geopolitical Breakdown?
AI Everywhere: Power, Money, War, and the Race to Control the Future
Trump vs the World Order: Disruption Genius or Global Arsonist?
Trump vs the World Order: Disruption Genius or Global Arsonist?
Trump vs the World Order: Disruption Genius or Global Arsonist?
Trump vs the World Order: Disruption Genius or Global Arsonist?
Arctic Power Grab: Security Chessboard or Climate Crime Scene?
Starmer Steps Back from Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ Amid Strained US–UK Relations
Prince Harry’s Lawyer Tells UK Court Daily Mail Was Complicit in Unlawful Privacy Invasions
UK Government Approves China’s ‘Mega Embassy’ in London Amid Debate Over Security and Diplomacy
Trump Cites UK’s Chagos Islands Sovereignty Shift as Justification for Pursuing Greenland Acquisition
UK Government Weighs Australia-Style Social Media Ban for Under-Sixteens Amid Rising Concern Over Online Harm
Trump Aides Say U.S. Has Discussed Offering Asylum to British Jews Amid Growing Antisemitism Concerns
UK Seeks Diplomatic De-escalation with Trump Over Greenland Tariff Threat
Prince Harry Returns to London as High Court Trial Begins Over Alleged Illegal Tabloid Snooping
High-Speed Train Collision in Southern Spain Kills at Least Twenty-One and Injures Scores
Meghan Markle May Return to the U.K. This Summer as Security Review Advances
Trump’s Greenland Tariff Threat Sparks EU Response and Risks Deep Transatlantic Rift
Prince Harry’s High Court Battle With Daily Mail Publisher Begins in London
Trump’s Tariff Escalation Presents Complex Challenges for the UK Economy
UK Prime Minister Starmer Rebukes Trump’s Greenland Tariff Strategy as Transatlantic Tensions Rise
Prince Harry’s Last Press Case in UK Court Signals Potential Turning Point in Media and Royal Relations
OpenAI to Begin Advertising in ChatGPT in Strategic Shift to New Revenue Model
GDP Growth Remains the Most Telling Barometer of Britain’s Economic Health
Prince William and Kate Middleton Stay Away as Prince Harry Visits London Amid Lingering Rift
Britain Braces for Colder Weather and Snow Risk as Temperatures Set to Plunge
Mass Protests Erupt as UK Nears Decision on China’s ‘Mega Embassy’ in London
Prince Harry to Return to UK to Testify in High-Profile Media Trial Against Associated Newspapers
Keir Starmer Rejects Trump’s Greenland Tariff Threat as ‘Completely Wrong’
Trump to hit Europe with 10% tariffs until Greenland deal is agreed
Prince Harry Returns to UK High Court as Final Privacy Trial Against Daily Mail Publisher Begins
Britain Confronts a Billion-Pound Wind Energy Paradox Amid Grid Constraints
The graduate 'jobpocalypse': Entry-level jobs are not shrinking. They are disappearing.
Cybercrime, Inc.: When Crime Becomes an Economy. How the World Accidentally Built a Twenty-Trillion-Dollar Criminal Economy
The Return of the Hands: Why the AI Age Is Rewriting the Meaning of “Real Work”
UK PM Kier Scammer Ridicules Tories With "Kamasutra"
Strategic Restraint, Credible Force, and the Discipline of Power
United Kingdom and Norway Endorse NATO’s ‘Arctic Sentry’ Mission Including Greenland
Woman Claiming to Be Freddie Mercury’s Secret Daughter Dies at Forty-Eight After Rare Cancer Battle
UK Launches First-Ever ‘Town of Culture’ Competition to Celebrate Local Stories and Boost Communities
Planned Sale of Shell and Exxon’s UK Gas Assets to Viaro Energy Collapses Amid Regulatory and Market Hurdles
UK Intensifies Arctic Security Engagement as Trump’s Greenland Rhetoric Fuels Allied Concern
×