Mel Gibson fans fall for fake post of actor cheering the destruction of Israel
A screenshot of a post purportedly made by Hollywood actor Mel Gibson claims that "the end" of Israel is coming. But the post, which has gone viral across social media, isn't real.
The screenshot, which began circulating online last month, shows an image of an Israeli flag featuring an hourglass in place of the Star of David. Text attributed to Gibson above the image states: "Soon the end and they know it, that’s why they want to destroy everything in the way."
Shared originally on Facebook and later to Instagram by a meme account with numerous racist and anti-Israel posts, the screenshot was met with applause from some users.
"He's always known what's up," one Instagram user wrote of Gibson.
"The world is waking up," another added.
Yet others pushed back on the post by correctly characterizing it as fake, causing some to point to Gibson's history with antisemitism as evidence of its legitimacy.
"Have u ever seen his movie, the passion of the christ?. He showed the whole world what they are about," one user said. "Have you ever heard of Hollywood blacklisting him for his anti jew rant? Are you even old enough to remember that?"
In 2006, Gibson stated that "Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world" while being arrested for driving while intoxicated.
Despite his past remarks, the screenshot attributed to Gibson is fake. Gibson does not operate any accounts on social media, as his representative has publicly stated.
Gibson is just the latest high-profile figure to be used in misinformation related to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.
A video of model Bella Hadid recanting her support for Palestine also went viral online last month. The video, however, was nothing more than a deepfake.
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