Italian PM’s UN ‘Protest’ Was Never Real
A viral video appears to show Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wearing a Palestinian flag scarf at the UN and confronting Benjamin Netanyahu. But the footage is AI-generated, and there is no evidence that the supposed protest ever happened.
Amidst the strained diplomatic ties with Israel, Italy has voiced its support for a Palestinian state by hosting an international summit in Rome, while the country has also witnessed a massive wave of nationwide pro-Palestine protests.
At the same time, waves of misinformation regarding Italy’s stance on Palestine are also circulating across social media. A viral video allegedly shows Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni supporting Palestine at the United Nations while wearing a Palestinian flag scarf around her neck.
OBC identified the viral video as AI-generated.
The viral claim
The user @fajihat0 posted the video on X on Aug 23 with the caption, “BREAKING: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni:’ I’m a woman and a mother. I cannot stand with someone who kills innocent children. “The woman continued walking with a Palestinian flag draped around her neck in front of Netanyahu. ”
As of 22 October, the video has amassed over 73.6k views and more than 1.7k likes.
Several other social media accounts have also circulated similar videos. Another user, @GPC_Globall, posted a similar video on 19 October.
Many users responded to the video with scepticism and anger.
One user questioned the originality of the clip and commented: “Doubt this is real, but the sentiment is real.” Another user responded with expletive language about Italy’s foreign policy involvement: “F*ck both countries! The only flag I want to see around her neck is the Italian one! Nothing else!”
What’s the Real Story?
We analysed the viral post and searched official records and credible news reports to verify the claim. We found no official news record or report confirming that Benjamin Netanyahu and Giorgia Meloni attended the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 81) together in September 2026.
For clearer context, we also ran a reverse image search using key frames from the video. It showed that many similar videos had circulated widely across social platforms during UNGA 81 in New York City on 22 September 2026.
We examined the viral video closely and identified numerous discrepancies. Upon closer inspection, it became clear that the Palestinian-themed scarf tied around Meloni’s neck abruptly glitches onto her back as she turns. Her right hand also appears distorted. Furthermore, in the background, the people standing behind her against the United Nations backdrop move unnaturally.
In addition, the team used digital detection tools, including Truthscan, alongside media forensic verification to determine whether the footage was synthetically generated.
The results estimated that the video had a 96% likelihood of being AI-generated.
We noticed that the video displays a watermark showing the TikTok username of the original uploader. We searched for the username ‘ss_zzza24’ that appeared on the original clip.
This led us to the account that has published several other AI-generated videos showing Giorgia Meloni with the Palestinian flag and the UN.
The account currently has over 11.4k followers and has gained followers by posting similar AI-generated videos.
Despite the widespread online circulation of AI-generated videos, Giorgi Meloni has not officially commented on them so far.
OBC analysis revealed that the viral video purporting to show Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wearing a Palestinian flag scarf and standing next to Benjamin Netanyahu is AI-generated. Despite this, the video was widely shared on X and Instagram as genuine, garnering over 73,000 views and convincing many users that she explicitly supports Palestine. These social media accounts are attempting to distort both the timeline and context to spread misinformation.
