The expressions of Meloni appear exaggerated and unnatural in several other parts of the video as well
Review shows visual inconsistencies: Meloni’s face shifts abruptly, with severe distortion in first 5 seconds. PHOTO: SCREEN GRAB
Multiple users on social media platform X were sharing a video on April 24, 2026, showing Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni ripping up papers and claiming she was ending all deals with Israel. However, the clip is fake and no such announcement was made by Italy.
On April 14, 2026, Italy suspended a defence agreement with Israel that involves the exchange of military equipment and technology research. However, experts say the development has symbolic value instead of concrete consequences.
Meloni’s right-wing government has been one of Israel’s closest allies in Europe, but in recent weeks, it has criticised Tel Aviv’s attacks on Lebanon.
Tensions between the two countries rose earlier in April after the Italian government accused Israeli forces of firing warning shots at a convoy of Italian peacekeepers in Lebanon. Italy summoned Israel’s ambassador in protest over the incident, which damaged at least one vehicle and caused no injuries.
How it started
On April 24, an X user, who appears to be a PTI supporter based on past posts, shared a clip that allegedly shows Meloni ripping up a stack of papers and storming off.
The caption reads: “Saluting this courageous woman with utmost admiration!! Italy’s female prime minister has terminated all agreements with Israel!! Italy’s female Prime Minister is more courageous and fearless than the current 56 Islamic heads of state!!”
The posts gathered 466,600 views.
The same video and claim were shared by a pro-Iranian account as well, with the post racking up 762,100 views.
Another X account, which describes itself as a digital media outlet covering politics, also shared the video with the same caption.
Subsequently, several other X users, particularly Iranian supporters, shared the clip, as can be seen here, here, here, here, here and here; collectively gaining over 75,000 views.
Methodology
A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality and keen public interest in Israel’s ties with other countries with respect to the ongoing Middle East tensions.
Inspecting the viral clip revealed several visual inconsistencies. Firstly, during the first five seconds of the clips, Meloni’s facial features change abruptly and are subject to severe distortion.
The expressions appear exaggerated and unnatural in several other parts of the video as well. Her head and lip movements throughout the clip were also inconsistent with normal speech and body movements.
Running the video through AI-detection tools further revealed that Detect Video AI flagged it as being 72 per cent AI-generated. Similarly, Undetectable AI assigned it a 65pc forgery probability, noting that the clip contained “suspicious elements”.
A keyword search was conducted to corroborate whether any credible US, Italian, Israeli or international media outlets had reported the Italian premier calling off all deals with Israel; however, no such reports were found.
However, it yielded a report by The Times of Israel, dated April 21, 2026, titled: “Germany and Italy reject push by EU allies to end association deal with Israel”.
According to the report, several member states of the European Union, including Spain, Slovenia and Ireland, called for suspending the bloc’s cooperation agreement with Israel amid rising anger over the latter’s attacks in Lebanon, Gaza, and the West Bank. The EU is one of Tel Aviv’s biggest trading partners.
However, Italy and Germany rejected the proposal, hence proving that Italy has not ended any or all deals with Israel. Similar reports were also carried by Turkiye’s Daily Sabah, Al Jazeera, and TRT.
Meanwhile, a reverse image search yielded a Reuters news report dated November 3, 2023, which featured an image of Meloni in the same attire as in the viral clip. The caption of the photo reads, “Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni attends the second day of the UK Artificial Intelligence (AI) Safety Summit at Bletchley Park, Britain, November 2, 2023.”
A similar image was also used in a report by Luxembourg Times, dated Nov 4, 2023. “Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni lines up for the family photo at the UK Artificial Intelligence (AI) Safety Summit at Bletchley Park, in central England, on November 2, 2023,” reads the caption.
Fact-check status: False
The claim that the Italian prime minister has terminated all of the country’s deals with Israel is false.
No such development has occurred, and an accompanying viral video is fake.
This fact check was originally published by iVerify Pakistan — a project of CEJ-IBA and UNDP.
