Media group criticises Israeli military over AI image of Lebanese journalist killed in strike

JERUSALEM: The Foreign Press Association (FPA) has accused the Israeli military of trying to undermine the credibility of a Lebanese journalist killed in an Israeli strike by circulating an artificial intelligence-generated image showing him in Hezbollah clothing.

The criticism came on Wednesday, days after three Lebanese journalists, including Ali Shoeib of Al-Manar television, were killed in Lebanon in an Israeli strike on March 28.

Israel’s military said it was responsible for killing Shoeib and alleged that he had “operated within the Hezbollah terrorist organisation under the guise of a journalist”. The military did not provide evidence for that claim, but posted an image on X showing Shoeib in a press vest, partly covered by an altered version of the same photograph in which he appeared in a Hezbollah uniform. The post carried the caption: “Turns out the ‘press vest’ was just a cover for terror.”

A day later, military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani shared another low-quality image on X that he said showed Shoeib in fatigues beside a tank. In that post, he wrote: “We post this unedited photo this morning of the terrorist Ali Shoeib wearing a Hezbollah uniform.” Shoshani also said the image circulated the previous day had been “edited”.

FPA statement

The FPA, which represents hundreds of journalists working in Israel and the Palestinian territories, said the Israeli military had distributed a “fake” image on March 28 in an effort to “discredit the journalist”.

“While the army put out a clarification about the photo, it never should have been distributed,” the association said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

“During the recent wars, it has been common practice by the Israeli military to discredit journalists and sow doubt by releasing inaccurate information and raising allegations without providing clear evidence.”

The association also said that more than 200 Palestinian journalists had been killed by Israeli fire since October 2023.

“Israel has claimed some of them were militants, but in numerous cases it provided little or no evidence to support these claims,” the FPA said, while also criticising what it described as the “inappropriate use of artificial intelligence” in Shoeib’s case.

Military response and background

When asked to comment on the FPA statement, the Israeli military referred AFP to Shoshani’s March 29 post on X.

Shoeib was described as a veteran Al-Manar TV correspondent who had reported on conflict and politics in Lebanon for decades.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 11 journalists and media workers in Lebanon have been killed by Israel since the start of an earlier phase of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in 2023.

Lebanon became involved in the current regional war after Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel on March 2, saying it was acting in retaliation for the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader in the opening phase of the US-Israeli war against Iran. Israel then carried out extensive air strikes across Lebanon and launched a ground incursion in the south.