An AI-generated fake video of Bella Hadid is going viral, making it look like she said “I stand with Israel.”
The video, posted on X (formerly Twitter) by CEO of Israeli NGO Shrink the Conflict Danel Ben Namer, shows a deepfake video including faked audio of Hadid, made to look like she’s giving a speech apologizing for speaking out in support of Palestinians.
עוד פרויקט מוצלח במיוחד של ישי רזיאל
— Danel Ben Namer (@DanelBenNamer) October 28, 2023
“Bella Hadid stands with Israel. Sinwar didn’t expect to get this surprise for his 61 birthday 🎈🎂 #WeFixedItForBella,” Namer tweeted with the video, referring to Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. In a reply, Namer credited music producer Yishay Raziel for making the video. Namer’s tweet has been viewed 19 million times.
In the fake video, an AI-generated voice that sounds like Hadid’s says, “I apologize for my past remarks. This tragedy has opened my eyes to the pain endured here, and I stand with Israel against terror. I’ve taken time to truly learn the historical context, now with a clearer understanding I hope we can engage in constructive dialogue moving forward.”
The original video is of Hadid giving a completely unrelated speech at the Global Lyme Alliance New York Gala in 2016.
Hadid, whose father is Palestinian, has been vocal about her support of Palestinian people during the newly-intensified conflict and Israel’s bombardment of the region, following attacks on Israelis by Hamas earlier this month. Three days ago, she posted a long note on Instagram about her family's history as refugees, writing, “We need to keep pressure on our leaders, wherever we are, not to forget the urgent needs of the people of Gaza, and to ensure that innocent Palestinian civilians are not the forgotten casualties of this war.”
Her sister, Gigi Hadid, has also been extremely outspoken about her support of Palestine; she recently posted an Instagram story which said, “There is nothing Jewish about the Israeli government’s treatment of Palestinians. Condemning the Israeli government is not antisemitic and supporting Palestinians is not supporting Hamas.” and after sharing her own post, the state of Israel tagged her on Instagram accusing her of “turning a blind eye to Jewish babies being butchered in their homes,” and she, too, went massively viral for her comments.
She’s talked openly about how people sent her death threats because she’s been outspoken about her support of Palestine. Now people are harassing her with AI-generated videos that literally put words in her mouth.
Making and posting deepfakes of public figures falsely supporting Israel seems to be a hobby for Raziel. He’s made several AI-generated videos using interviews and speeches given by politicians and celebrities who’ve been outspoken about criticizing Israel or supporting Palestine, including president of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Egyptian journalist Basma Wahba and Queen Consort of Jordan Rania Al Abdullah.
Raziel’s deepfake videos include the caption “fixed it for you,” meaning he’s attempting to rewrite their stances on the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Social media platforms have struggled to keep up with a constant stream of misinformation in the last month, while Israel’s president Benjamin Netanyahu attempts to pass laws that would prevent free access to facts and information about the conflict even more.
X flagged Namer’s post as manipulated media with a link at the bottom about the platform’s policies on manipulated content, and a user-generated community note points out that it’s fake. Manipulated media that is “shared in a deceptive manner or with false context” risks deletion or account suspension, according to the site’s rules. But there are exceptions for “ memes or satire,” which are allowed. Youtube and Meta have similar rules for manipulated media.
Youtube, Meta, and X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
