Turkish media fell for an international prank claiming that an Indian-Israeli Mossad agent named Amit Nakesh had assassinated Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last Wednesday.
The sensational story of an Indian-Israeli secret agent with a license to kill captured Turkish headlines, prompting journalists to seek more thrilling details. Akdeniz Gercek Gazetesi reported that Nakesh had completed his military service in Israel before joining Mossad, where he became an expert in assassinations and recruiting intelligence sources, participating in multiple operations against "elements hostile to Israel."
However, it was soon revealed that the story was a global hoax orchestrated by Israeli social media pranksters and meme artists. Israelis quickly recognized the joke, noting that the name "Amit Nagesh" closely resembles the Hebrew word "hamitnakesh," meaning "the assassin."
The Times of Israel reported that Turkish media swiftly retracted all stories about Amit Nakesh, but not before Israeli social media had plenty of fun at their expense. An account even appeared on X (formerly Twitter) under the name Amit Nakesh, claiming to be friends with another fictional character, Eli Copter, purportedly responsible for downing Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.
Israeli social media often features fake news about daring Israeli exploits, frequently creating prank posts about fictional Israeli soldiers and Mossad agents with punny names.
Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made bold political moves, including threatening to invade Israel to end the war in Gaza. In response, Israel's foreign minister suggested that Turkey should be expelled from NATO. Erdogan also temporarily blocked Instagram in Turkey after the platform restricted posts mourning the Hamas leader's death, only to later post and quickly delete a message on the social media site.
