Fake image of pro-Israeli banner at Italian football match goes viral

The conflict in the Middle East continues to be a prime target for misinformation and digitally manipulated images online, including in peripheral contexts.

Italy faced off against Israel for a Nations League in Udine on 14 October, in a football match that sparked security concerns due to the war, which initially erupted between Israel and Hamas in October 2023 but which has now engulfed Lebanon too.

After the game, which saw Italy win 4-1, an AI-generated image began doing the rounds on social media, supposedly showing Italian fans holding a large banner in solidarity with Israel.

The banner says "Let's remember the hostages" or "We remember the hostages" in Italian. Underneath it, you can see a combined Italian-Israeli flag.

The post has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times and has been spread in other languages too.

However, there are several clues which show that the image has been AI-generated.

Some of the players on the pitch look oddly distorted, and the text seen in the stands is completely illegible. 

The stadium depicted in the image also looks noticeably different to the real-life Stadio Friuli, including the lack of tiers and windows and the absence of yellow stairs seen in the true stadium.

Everyone in the crowd in the AI-generated picture appears to be wearing the same black clothing.

The Italian players are also shown wearing black and white — whereas in the real match, the team wore a blue kit.

Although there was no pro-Israeli banner flying in the Italian stands, the shadow of the war in the Middle East did loom over the game.

It was the first match that Israel played outside of Hungary this year. Belgium refused to host a game against Israel due to security concerns, although Paris police have confirmed that France will host its own upcoming clash against Israel on 14 November "under the usual conditions".

There were boos from some fans in Udine when the Israeli anthem was played on Monday but the rest of the stadium tried to drown that out with loud applause — just as they had done when the Israel team was read out. At least one Palestinian flag was held up.

There was a highly visible group of around a dozen Israel fans and they loudly chanted their support.

Fewer than 12,000 tickets were sold for the match — less than half the capacity of the 25,000-seater Stadio Friuli — amid stringent security measures, that also included armed military personnel on the roof of the stadium.

Areas around the stadium were blocked off 48 hours before kickoff and declared a "red zone", and only fans with tickets could pass through the tall metal barriers. Supporters were strongly advised to arrive early because of rigorous checks.

Hundreds of extra police officers were called up from surrounding areas.

Around 1,000 people took part in a pro-Palestine demonstration earlier in the city centre. Among the placards, there were several posters calling on football's governing bodies to ban Israel.