Is Benjamin Netanyahu's coffee video AI-generated using 2024 footage? Israeli PM's 'proof-of-life' sparks more conspiracy theories amid death rumours

But the real moment of intention comes next. Apparently aware of the specific theories floating around the internet, Netanyahu looks at the camera and asks, "Do you want to count my fingers?" He then holds up both hands to the lens, one after the other, wiggling his fingers to prove he has the standard issue five on each hand. The gesture was a direct response to claims that a previous official video of him was an AI-generated fake because viewers thought they spotted a sixth digit on his hand.



Here is where things get messy. Instead of reassuring people, the coffee shop video has only fuelled more conspiracy theories, leading to a wave of theories that it, too, is a deepfake. The speculation has become so loud that even Grok, the AI chatbot on X (formerly Twitter), fueled the fire by initially responding to a user that the clip was "100% deepfake". (It is worth noting that AI chatbots can sometimes make mistakes, but the damage was already done.)

So, what are the "tells" that conspiracy theorists are pointing to? The reasons break down into a few specific visual quirks:

The Physics of the Coffee: The most popular theory revolves around the beverage itself. Viewers claim that the foam on his coffee doesn't move or slosh around the way a real liquid should when the cup is handled, suggesting the fluid dynamics were "off" and generated by software rather than physics. Some even claim that despite him taking a few sips, the amount of coffee remains the same in the cup.