Video of Bella Hadid appearing to make pro-Israel statement is a scarily realistic deepfake

A viral video of Dutch-Palestinian model Bella Hadid expressing her support for Israel was determined to be an AI-generated deepfake after racking up more than 20 million views on X.

Posted by an Israeli user named Danel Ben Namer, the 28-second clip presents Hadid speaking at a podium in a formal setting, with her lip movements and voice appearing to match her statement.

“Hi, it’s Bella Hadid. On October 7, 2023, Israel faced a tragic attack by Hamas. I can’t stay silent. I apologize for my past remarks,” she appears to state in the video.

“This tragedy has opened my eyes to the pain endured here and I stand with Israel against terror. I have taken time to truly learn the historical context. Now with a clearer understanding, I hope we can engage in constructive dialogue moving forward. Thank you,” the video continues.

After rocketing around the internet, a community note was affixed to the post alerting users that the clip was faked.

“This audio of this video was made using AI,” the note reads. “The [original] speech was from the 2016 Global Lyme Alliance Awards where Bella Hadid was receiving an award.”

Bella Hadid stands with Israel. Sinwar didn’t expect to get this surprise for his 61 birthday