An image generated by Artificial Intelligence began circulating online after Italy's 4-1 victory over Israel in a Nations League match.
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The Middle East conflict continues to be a prime target for disinformation and digitally manipulated images online. On October 14, Italy played Israel in the Nations League in Udine, in a soccer match that sparked security concerns due to the conflict that initially erupted between Israel and Hamas in October 2023, but which now also concerns Lebanon.
After the match, which Italy won 4-1, an AI-generated image began making the rounds on social media purporting to show Italian fans holding a large banner in solidarity with Israel. The banner says “Let us remember the hostages” in Italian. Below, we can see an Italian-Israeli flag.
The post has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times and has been broadcast in other languages. However, several clues show that the image was generated by artificial intelligence.
Some players on the pitch appear strangely distorted and the text displayed in the stands is completely illegible. The stadium shown in the image is also very different from Stadio Friuli, notably due to the absence of stands and windows as well as the yellow stairs seen in the real stadium.
All the viewers in the AI-generated image appear to be wearing the same black clothes. The Italian players are also depicted in black and white, while in the real match the team wore a blue jersey.
Although no pro-Israeli banner flew in the Italian stands, the shadow of war in the Middle East hung over the match.
It was the first match Israel played this year after a meeting in Hungary. Belgium refused to host a match against Israel due to security concerns, but Paris police confirmed that France would host its own match against Israel on November 14 “under usual conditions”.
Some Udine fans booed the Israeli anthem on Monday, but the rest of the stadium tried to drown them out with loud applause, as they did when the Israel team played. At least one Palestinian flag was waved. A highly visible group of a dozen Israeli supporters loudly chanted their support.
Fewer than 12,000 tickets were sold for the match, less than half the capacity of the 25,000-seat Stadio Friuli, amid tight security measures including the presence of armed military personnel on the stadium roof .
The surroundings of the stadium were blocked off 48 hours before kick-off and declared “zone rouge”and only supporters with tickets could cross the high metal barriers. Supporters were strongly advised to arrive early due to the stringent controls. Hundreds of additional police officers were called from the surrounding area.
Around 1,000 people took part in a pro-Palestinian demonstration earlier in the city center. Among the signs, several called on football governing bodies to ban Israel.
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