From the Liveblog of
Monday, August 3, 2026
Eisenkot billboard in Cyprus said vandalized with Palestinian colors, but photo appears to be AI fakery
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A political billboard for Yashar chief Gai Eisenkot in Cyprus was defaced with paint in the colors of the Palestinian flag, including red smeared over the former general’s face to look like blood, Cypriot and Israeli media reported.
Update: However, closer inspection of images of the alleged defacing suggested that the pictures were AI-generated.
A picture shared by the Kan public broadcaster showed the purportedly vandalized Hebrew-language billboard, which had sparked anger among some locals when it appeared last week, advertising to the many Israelis who flock to the nearby island for vacation. According to Kan, it is located on a road between Limassol and Larnaca.
הושחת שלט הדרכים של גדי איזנקוט ומפלגת "ישר!" שהוצב בקפריסין בין לרנקה ללימסול@DovGilHar
צילום עבור כאן חדשות: ליאון וידל pic.twitter.com/xTJuNBUCn3
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) August 3, 2026
Black, white and green paint were seen to cover the words “Israelis, enjoy, you deserve it,” as well as Eisenkot’s name and that of his newly founded Yashar party, which is leading the political front seeking to oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Red paint appeared to be smeared over the face of Eisenkot, who served in the war cabinet for the first stages of the war in Gaza.
An Israeli flag behind him was left largely untouched.
Examination of the photograph suggested that the colors had been manipulated, and that the paint splash appeared unnatural, pointing to AI fakery.
In one other angle of the image I did find, the manipulation is even more prevalent:
1. The "NICHE" sign has been warped, with the letters not making any sense.
2. A part of the pole is blurred out. pic.twitter.com/K3D9rsBi0G— Tal Hagin (@talhagin) August 3, 2026
Israeli media literacy lecturer Tal Hagin posted on X that it was curious that the pictures of the damage showed the sign from the exact same angle, and posted what he said was a second such image in which part of the pole holding the sign was blurred out.
The Times of Israel Community.