?How do Turkish websites attack the satirical Israeli news attacks in the media
Since 31 July 2024, Turkish media outlets have been buzzing with the name “Amit Nakesh,” claiming that he is the person responsible for the assassination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh, and that he is an experienced agent in the Israeli secret intelligence agency “Mossad,” who served as an officer in a secret intelligence unit of the Israeli occupation army, and later joined Mossad and participated in high-level operations. They added that he specializes in assassinations and intelligence operations, and played decisive roles in various operations against targets that the occupation state considers enemies, and attributed this information to Hebrew and foreign sources.
The “Tahaqaq” team fact-checked the circulating claim by searching public sources and returning to Turkish and Hebrew websites and sources. It turned out that the circulating claim was originally a sarcastic tweet published by an Israeli lecturer and founder of technology companies based on deep learning called “Eli David” via his account on the “X” website.
Who is “Amit Nakish”?
There is no real person named “Amit Nakish”; rather, he is a fictional character invented by David in a sarcastic tweet. In the tweet, David claimed that Israeli sources had revealed the name of the Mossad agent responsible for the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh as “Amit Nakish”. This sarcastic tweet quickly misled Turkish users and media outlets, who subsequently published the information as if it were true.
The same account later shared a screenshot of the Turkish news sites that had reported the story and commented sarcastically, saying: “Turkish newspapers are extensively reviewing the disclosure of the name of the Mossad agent who killed Haniyeh, Colonel Amit Nakish. It started with this post yesterday on Twitter, and it turned out that many Turkish journalists are following me.”
According to “Israel National News“, “Amit Nakish” is written in Hebrew as “עמית נקש.” This name phonetically resembles the Hebrew word “המִתְנַקֵּשׁ” (Hamitnakesh), which means “murderer” or “avenger.” The name was used sarcastically, as its pronunciation changes the meaning to “assassin”.
Hebrew media and users mock Turkish media
Hebrew media, including the “Matzavء” website and the “Hamal” war room website, interacted with responded to the Turkish media’s mishandling of the sarcastic style employed by Israeli researcher Eli David since October 7. David remarked to the “Yedioth Ahronoth” newspaper: “It was amusing to see them take it seriously; Israelis are well accustomed to these kinds of jokes.” Meanwhile, numerous sarcastic tweets circulated on the “X” platform, highlighting this error.
Israel has not officially claimed responsibility for the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh
In his speech yesterday, Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu avoided speaking or commenting on the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, but he stressed that Israel is prepared for all possibilities, and that Israel is preparing for all possibilities, warning the Israelis by saying: “The coming days will be difficult, since the attack in Beirut we have heard threats from all fronts.” Meanwhile, the spokesman for the Israeli Prime Minister, David Mancer, refused, during his attendance at a press conference, to comment on the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, saying, “No comment on the killing of Ismail Haniyeh,” indicating that Israel is on high alert.
This isn’t the first instance where Israeli accounts have employed satire in their interactions with current events. In a different case, broadcaster Daniel Hayek, a political analyst for the French version of Israeli channel i24, was misled by satirical news. During a live broadcast, Hayek claimed that the pilot responsible for the crash of the Iranian presidential plane was a Mossad agent. This claim was based on satirical social media content suggesting that a Mossad agent named “Eli Copter” was behind the helicopter crash that resulted in the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on April 19, 2024. Hayek faced online mockery for failing to recognize that the name was a play on words, as “Eli Copter” humorously resembles the French word for “helicopter.”
| The result |
| was circulated following the assassination of Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh on Wednesday morning, September 31, 2024, and his personal aide Wassim Abu Shaaban after they participated in the inauguration ceremony of the new Iranian president in 29 July 2024. |
| Prosecution sources | Verification sources |
