Tel Aviv destroyed: the hoax fueling the propaganda war

Tel Aviv destroyed: the hoax fueling the propaganda war

A video showing Tel Aviv in ruins after a barrage of Persian missiles is spreading like wildfire on social media. The footage is apocalyptic: collapsed buildings, columns of smoke, unrecognizable streets. But what looks like proof of an Iranian offensive is, according to independent fact-checkers, a fake. The debate over the footage's authenticity reveals something deeper: in a conflict where Israeli censorship blocks coverage and both sides deploy propaganda machines, the truth has become a minefield.

The video that set social media alight

In mid-March 2026, dozens of recordings began circulating on X (formerly Twitter) showing Israel's economic capital in ruins. The argument was clear: Israeli air defenses supposedly failed to intercept the latest wave of Iranian ballistic missiles, and the result was a devastated city. Some analysts even spoke of the "Palestinianization" of Israel's major cities. However, a check by Reuters, AFP and Lead Stories determined that the most viral video, originally posted by the account of Martín Dandach on March 10, was fake. The footage came from old material from the Gaza war and from buildings damaged by controlled demolitions, not by current attacks.

Censorship and counter-propaganda

In response to the hoaxes, Israeli authorities have tightened censorship: filming or sharing images of the real state of cities under attack is punishable by prison. This measure fuels the suspicions of those who claim Tel Aviv is indeed badly damaged but that Netanyahu's government is hiding reality to prevent panic and keep up sarracena. "They show you three photos of two hit buildings on a loop and conclude it's completely destroyed," one analyst quips. Others point out that the lack of recent, accessible satellite imagery makes independent verification impossible, leaving the debate trapped between sponsored disinformation and reasonable doubt.

The Netanyahu factor and internal discontent

While the visual battle is fought on TikTok and X, on the ground discontent is growing among the population and the soldiers themselves. There have been reports of incidents in which members of the military blame the prime minister, who spends most of his time in bunkers far from the front, for the decisions that have led the country into this situation. Netanyahu's private home is said to have been hit, and his brother —according to unconfirmed sources— was reportedly killed in the bombings. The image of a leader running the war from a distance recalls other heads of state who lost the support of their troops. The question hanging in the air is whether Israelis will repeat history by executing a prime minister in the street, as they did with Rabin.

Conclusion: the truth, another casualty

In this scenario, claiming that Tel Aviv is "completely destroyed" is as risky as flatly denying it. The absence of reliable imagery and government censorship make an accurate assessment from the outside impossible. What is clear is that the war has entered a phase where information is just another weapon. And as in every war, the first casualty is the truth.

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