Claim: A video shows Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wearing a scarf featuring the Palestinian flag and snubbing her Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, by refusing to shake hands with him. Another clip depicts her slapping him before walking away.
Fact: Both videos are AI-generated.
On 30 April 2026, Facebook user ‘Sumaira Malik’ posted (archive) a video showing Italy’s PM Giorgia Meloni sporting a scarf featuring the Palestinian flag and snubbing Israeli premier Netanyahu by refusing to shake hands with him.
It is captioned as follows:
“گلے میں فلسطینی پرچم پہنے اٹلی کی وزیر اعظم جارجیا میلونی نے اسرائیلی وزیر اعظم نیتن یاہو سے ہاتھ ملانے سے انکار کر دیا۔
[Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, wearing a Palestinian flag around her neck, refused to shake hands with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.]”
Additionally, Facebook page ‘Sach Ki Awaaz’ also posted (archive) a reel about the purported incident that includes a voiceover and screenshots from the aforementioned viral video.
The clip also features three lines of text, which are as follows:
- “یو این اسمبلی میں اٹلی کی وزیر اعظم فلسطینی جھنڈا پہن کر داخل ! [Italian Prime Minister enters the UN Assembly wearing a Palestinian flag!]”
- “نیتن یاہو غرور خاک میں جھنڈا مانگنے پر جرجا ملونی نے تھپڑ مار دیا! [Netanyahu’s pride reduced to dust, Giorgia Meloni slapped him for demanding the flag!]”
- “یو این اسمبلی میں کافر کا عبرت ناک انجام ! بڑی چھتر پریڈ ! [A lesson for the infidel in the UN Assembly! A big parade of slaps!]”
Separately, Facebook user ‘Hazrat Khan Yousaf Zai’ also posted (archive) a video on 29 April 2026, showing the Italian prime minister, sporting a Palestinian flag on her shoulders, suddenly standing up and slapping Netanyahu as he approaches her.
Meloni’s stance on Israel
On 14 April, Meloni announced that her right-wing government was suspending “the automatic renewal of the defense agreement with Israel” after accusing the latter’s forces of firing “warning shots at a convoy of Italian UN peacekeepers in Lebanon”.
Later, on 30 April, Italy condemned Israel’s move to seize the Global Sumud Flotilla — a convoy of ships carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza — in international waters, saying they were “unlawfully detained”.
Back in August 2025, Meloni had denounced Israel’s attacks on Gaza as excessive, saying there were “too many innocent victims” in the war that started in October 2023. However, she did express her country’s support for the Middle Eastern nation’s “right to self-defense” at the time.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check observed multiple tell-tale signs of content generated through artificial intelligence (AI) tools.
In the first video, Meloni moves robotically and her scarf features illegible text in Arabic. Some figures behind the Italian PM also appear to merge.
In the second clip, the screen that displays the name of the representatives’ respective countries has illegible text. Meloni’s hand merges with a wire on the table when she puts down her mobile phone and her movement appears to be robotic throughout this video too. Just after she slaps Netanyahu, a woman suddenly appears behind her.
While walking away, Meloni fixes her scarf — which merges into her hair — and the Palestinian flag also changes colours.
Soch Fact Check decided to run the video through different deepfake detectors.
According to Hive Moderation, the probability of the video being AI-generated or containing deepfake content is 91.5%. The second one has a 29.8% likelihood.
In DeepFake-O-Meter, we used eight detectors to test the two videos.
The detectors gave scores of 99.9%, 99.7%, 99.6%, 99.3%, 73.3%, 67.7%, 62.3%, and 50.4% for the first video.
For the second clip, the scores were 99.9%, 10.1%, 46.3%, 86.2%, 73.9%, 74.4%, 33.9%, and 30.9%.
Results from Hive Moderation and DeepFake-O-Meter
We also searched for reliable articles about the purported scene by credible news outlets but did not find any. Had Meloni actually rebuffed or slapped Netanyahu, the incident would be widely reported and likely attract condemnations for being diplomatically inappropriate.
Interestingly, Meloni last addressed the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 24 September 2025, not in 2026.
It’s also important to note that the Italian prime minister addressed AI-generated content targeting her in an X (formerly Twitter) post this month, saying, “The fact remains that in order to attack and invent falsehoods, people are using anything and everything these days. The point, however, goes beyond me.
“Deepfakes are a dangerous tool because they can deceive, manipulate, and harm anyone. I can defend myself. Many others cannot. This is why one rule should always apply: verify before believing, and believe before sharing,” she added.
Soch Fact Check, therefore, concludes that both videos are AI-generated.
Virality
Soch Fact Check found the videos circulating here, here, here, here, here, here, and here on Facebook, here, here, here, here, and here on Instagram, and here, here, and here on Threads.
It was also shared here on X.
The former deputy speaker of Pakistan’s National Assembly, Qasim Suri, also posted the clip on Facebook and Instagram.
Conclusion: Both videos are AI-generated.
Background image in cover photo: Emma Fabbri
To appeal against our fact-check, please send an email to appeals@sochfactcheck.com