IMAGES THAT APPEAR to show the Israeli prime minister wearing an Argentina jersey at the World Cup in the United States are AI-generated.

The Israeli leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, was recorded on the day of the Argentina-Austria match meeting with a foreign government official, as well as retired US military figures.

“Breaking news,” begins multiple posts on Facebook from 23 June. “Benjamin Netanyahu in attendance for Argentina vs Austria games. Arrest warrant means nothing for him.”

The posts are accompanied by what looks like Netanyahu in a stadium, wearing an Argentina jersey. Other people in the photo are also wearing Argentinian colours, though one man in the background is wearing what appears to be an Austrian jersey.

The AI-generated image of Netanyahu

The 2026 Fifa World Cup is currently being hosted in cities across America, Canada and Mexico and is scheduled to run until 19 July.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu in 2024 for war crimes committed since Israel invaded of Gaza in 2023, killing hundreds of thousands and creating a humanitarian catastrophe.

Less than a month into its tenure, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on the ICC in response to their condemnation of Netanyahu.

Netanyahu has made multiple visits to the United States since.

But these visits do not include a trip to the 22 June World Cup soccer match between Argentina and Austria, held in Arlington, Texas.

Instead, on that date, Netanyahu was filmed in Jerusalem meeting a politician from Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as being photographed in his office with retired US generals and admirals.

The picture showing Netanyahu in the jersey is visually convincing, and the signs that it is AI-generated are largely confined to distortions in the crests on the jerseys — in particular the blurred writing on the Austrian crest is the wrong size.

However, using a tool provided by AI company, OpenAI, a “SynthID” was found on the image. The SynthID is an invisible, digital watermark purposely added by some AI image generators so that their creations can be readily identified.

AI-generated content is becoming increasingly common in online misinformation.

The Journal has debunked numerous AI-generated images this year, including fake images of the fuel price protests, the US and Israel’s war with Iran, and Daniel O’Donnell in hospital.

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