Claim: An image shows Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif shaking hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the World Economic Forum in January 2026.
Fact: The image is likely AI-generated. Moreover, the Israeli prime minister did not attend the 2026 event in Davos, Switzerland.
On 21 January, an X user posted an image (archive) purportedly showing the Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif, shaking hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in January 2026. The user wrote: [Translated from Urdu to English: “Pakistan announces joining Trump’s board, Netanyahu and Shehbaz stand in the same row!”]
The claim implies that the two leaders shook hands as Pakistan signed on to join US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace. The Board, which was launched on the sidelines of the 56th annual World Economic Forum (WEF) on 22 January 2026, was initially aimed at securing a permanent ceasefire and reconstruction of Gaza. Now its function has expanded to address conflicts worldwide, according to news reports citing the charter.
Pakistan joined the Board of Peace after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formally signed the charter at the WEF, becoming one of the founding members along with several other countries from the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and Latin America.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check reverse-searched the image and conducted a keyword search, but found no reports of Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif meeting or shaking hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This raised suspicions that the photo circulating online was likely fake.
Then, an analysis of the photo indicated it’s likely AI-generated. Upon closer inspection, the identification cards worn by both premiers display signs typical of AI-generation software. The text is barely legible because it is garbled as AI often struggles to generate coherent text.
Annotated image showing garbled text on identification cards.
Multiple AI detection tools said it is AI-generated. Hive Moderation rated the image at 99.9%, which means that the photo is “likely to contain AI-generated or deepfake content”.
Results from Hive Moderation.
Sightengine returned a score of 96%, indicating a high likelihood of the image being AI-generated.
Results from Sightengine.
Another tool, Undetectable AI, returned the result “3% real,” which means that “this image is likely created by AI.”
Results from Undetectable AI.
Moreover, four algorithms from Deepfake-o-Meter yielded high probabilities of 68.2%, 100%, 75.2% and 86.4% for the image being AI-generated. Whereas others yielded low scores for the image, as shown below:
Results from Deepfake-o-Meter.
Netanyahu never attended the World Economic Forum 2026
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not attend the World Economic Forum. Multiple news reports suggested he could face possible arrest under an International Criminal Court warrant in Switzerland. Instead, Israeli President Isaac Herzog attended the annual meeting.
A WEF article also confirmed that the Israeli president attended the event among other world leaders. Therefore, it is unlikely that Shehbaz Sharif crossed paths or shook hands with Netanyahu at the 56th Annual WEF.
An analysis of the Israeli president and the prime minister’s X accounts also confirmed that Herzog attended the event and not Netanyahu.
Nonetheless, the Israeli prime minister’s office on X announced that Netanyahu had accepted US President Trump’s invitation to join the Board of Peace. However, no Israeli representative was present on stage for the signing ceremony, although Herzog was in Davos, CNN reported.
In October 2025, Soch Fact Check debunked a similar claim after images of Shehbaz’s meeting with the Armenian counterpart and the President of Azerbaijan at the Gaza Peace Summit in Egypt were taken out of context to claim that he was meeting Netanyahu.
Soch Fact Check, therefore, concludes that the image circulating online is fake and likely AI-generated.
Virality
The AI-generated image was shared on X here, here, here, here, here and here.
On Facebook, it was shared here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here.
TikTok users also shared this image, using it in clips (see first scene) here and here.
On Instagram here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
On YouTube here.
Conclusion: The image purportedly showing Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif shaking hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the World Economic Forum’s 56th annual meeting in January 2026 is likely AI-generated. Moreover, the Israeli prime minister did not attend the World Economic Forum in Davos this year.
Background image in cover photo: Business Recorder
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