Misinformation Alert: Old Assassination Attempt Passed Off as Netanyahu Attack

A viral video claiming to show an assault on Benjamin Netanyahu is misleading. The footage actually dates back to a 2013 incident in Bulgaria involving Ahmed Dogan, where an assassination attempt took place during a live speech.

On April 8, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced through his official X (formerly Twitter) account backing the US President Donald Trump’s efforts to allegedly prevent Iran from being a nuclear, missile, and terror threat to America, Israel, Iran’s Arab neighbors, and the global community. He also suggested that Lebanon is not included in the two-week ceasefire plan between the US and Iran, contradicting the Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who announced that the US, Iran, and their allies have agreed to an immediate ceasefire everywhere, “including Lebanon and elsewhere.”

On April 6, a widely shared video on social media purported to show an assault on Benjamin Netanyahu. However, the video dates back to a 2013 incident from Bulgaria where an unidentified assailant put a gas pistol to the head of Ahmed Dogan, leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF). He w currently serves as the honorary chairman of the newly formed Alliance for Rights and Freedoms (APS).

What does the viral social media post suggest?

On April 6, Iran eye’s, a parody account on X, shared an extremely blurred video that shows an individual standing at a podium  getting assaulted, with a caption, “Netanyahu was severely beaten in the Israeli parliament. It is reported that the person giving a speech disguised as Netanyahu was not Netanyahu himself but his lookalike.”

As of April 8, the post garnered 11,00,000 views, 9,000 likes, and 2,600 reposts.

Believing the visuals, a user remarked, “Oh, this is great, deserves the worst this guy.” Another user alleged that Benjamin Netanyahu died and the Israeli government has been using AI ever since to make it look like he is alive.

While several users pointed out that the video is old and unrelated to Benjamin Netanyahu or the Iran war.

A Facebook user from Bangladesh also shared the video on April 6 with a similar caption.

As of April 8, the post received 1,300 shares, 1,000 likes, and 224 comments.  

Believing the caption to be true, several users responded to the post with stickers and emojis, while many registered their disbelief and suggested that the video could be false.

We identified that an X account featuring Iraq’s national flag as a cover image initially shared the video on April 5.

How did we verify the visual?

We analysed the viral claim and found no credible media reports or official briefings that corroborate it. Subsequently, we performed keyframe analysis of the viral visuals, which led us to a Guardian report dated January 21, 2013, that carries a much cleaner version of the viral video.

As per the report, the video shows Ahmed Dogan, leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms party in Bulgaria, avoiding an assassination attempt during a live televised speech on January 19, 2013.

According to a BBC report published on January 20, 2013, the incident took place at a party congress in Sofia, the capital city of Bulgaria. The assailant used  a non-lethal weapon primarily intended for self-defense that doesn’t discharge bullets, although it could prove lethal if used at close range.

The analysis of the viral claim revealed that a video depicting a 2013 incident from Sofia, Bulgaria, featuring the leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms party, Ahmed Dogan, was falsely attributed to Benjamin Netanyahu and the Iran war.