India X user fooled Netanyahu, Fox News with fake Iran quote
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- @Im_Ritikaa account posted a fabricated Hindi quote attributed to IRGC chief Ahmad Vahidi at 9:14 am on August 5, claiming Iran would continue developing nuclear weapons as long as the US and Israel possess them — Vahidi's last public appearance was on July 3.
- Mossad Commentary X account, which the AP found impersonates Israel's Mossad and which the Israeli military confirmed was 'clearly not an official account', reposted the fake quote at 1:49 pm, providing the first major amplification.
- Israel's Channel 14 aired the fake quote at 2:22 pm without citing a primary source, followed by Yair Netanyahu reposting it at 2:49 pm to nearly 300,000 followers.
- PM Benjamin Netanyahu repeated the alleged Vahidi quote in an official address at 5:02 pm on August 5 at a Mount Herzl state ceremony in Jerusalem, stating Vahidi had 'explicitly stated' Iran's intent to continue developing nuclear weapons.
- US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz and Fox News (at 10:01 pm) also amplified the fake quote, with Fox News later clarifying the remarks 'were previously taken out of context and amplified as comments made this week.'
- ANI (Asian News International), a New Delhi-based agency, reported the story at 12:45 am on August 6 citing 'Israeli media' — completing a citation loop that returned the India-origin fake news home 15.5 hours after the original tweet.
Why it matters: The incident shows a single verified X post penetrating a sitting PM's official speech, Fox News, and the US envoy to the UN within roughly 13 hours through a citation chain that ran from an India-based account through an unverified account claiming to be Mossad, to Channel 14, to global media — none of which checked primary Iranian sources for a claim that contradicted Iran's official position that nuclear weapons are religiously forbidden.
Ask SkimNews
