Is there a real set of pictures of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wearing a Palestinian flag scarf and slapping Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu? No, that's not true: The pictures are screenshots from an AI-generated video. Additionally, as of April there are no reports of Meloni slapping Netanyahu.
The claim appeared in a post made on X by the user @Abdullah_Om3r03 on April 29, 2026 (archived here). The post included a collage image that appeared to show Meloni slapping Netanyahu. The caption of the post read:
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni firmly refused to slap the Israeli Prime Minister for not taking down the Palestinian flag. We ask God to protect Meloni and grant her faith. Amen, Lord of the worlds.
Although the caption states that Meloni "refused to slap the Israeli Prime Minister," the fake pictures depict a slap.
This is what the collage of images included in the post looked like:
(Image source: Post by @Abdullah_Om3r03 on X.)
A Google Image search of the largest image in the collage found a video of the fake incident depicted in the pictures (archived here). The video appeared in a post made on X (archived here) on April 29, 2026. The user who posted the video labeled it as AI-generated.
Visual clues also suggest the video is AI-generated. The words on the screens are difficult to read or illegible, even though they are close to the action (white circle). A person who is not shown in the background at the start and is noticeably shorter than the others in the video somehow comes into view as Meloni walks toward the door (pink circle). Most tellingly, the Palestinian flag (archived here) scarf Meloni wears, which at first correctly shows the flag's black, white, and green stripes, transforms in the back, with no trace of the black stripe and instead, an extension of the flag's red triangle (yellow circle). An image highlighting these clues is included below.
(Image source: Post by @MrImranPk on X. Circles added by Lead Stories.)
A search of Google News for "Meloni slapping Netanyahu" did not generate any relevant results (archived here).
Italy is known for its strong alliance with Israel (archived here). However, earlier this month, Meloni announced that Italy would not be renewing its automatic defense agreement with Israel, which was already communicated to Israeli officials (archived here).
A previous Lead Stories fact check, focused on another AI-generated video of Meloni and Netanyahu having a tense interaction. More fake Meloni and Netanyahu fight videos have been featured on social media, such as the one found here (archived here), and some including President Donald Trump, like the one found here (archived here and here).
