FACT CHECK: Image Purporting To Show Israeli Soldiers Holding ISIS Flag Is Digitally Altered

Christine Sellers | Fact Check Reporter

An image shared on Facebook purports to show Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers holding an Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) flag as well as an Israeli flag.

Verdict: False

The image is digitally altered. In the original image, shared on X by the IDF in June 2023, the soldiers are holding Golani Patrol and Israeli flags.

Fact Check:

The IDF used its jets to attack targets in southern Lebanon on Mar. 8, according to the Jerusalem Post. The targets included a military post in Ayta ash Shab, the outlet reported.

“ISIS was created and funded by Mossad and the CIA,” the Facebook image’s caption purports. “Israel treated ISIS fighters in their hospitals and John McCain met with their leader and supplied weapons,” it continues. In the image, the IDF soldiers appear to be holding both ISIS and Israeli flags. The image also circulated on X, the social media platform previously called Twitter.
The claim is false, as the image is digitally altered. Check Your Fact conducted a reverse image search, which generated the original image shared on X by the IDF in June 2023. In the original image, the soldiers are holding the Golani Patrol and Israeli flags. (RELATED: Photo Of Emaciated Child Shows Yemeni, Not Palestinian, Boy)
“A delegation of 12 fighters and commanders from the Golani patrol unit left yesterday for the “African Lion 2023″ exercise led by the land arm that is taking place in Morocco. About 18 countries and about 8,000 soldiers from the US army, Morocco and Ghana are participating in the exercise,” a translation of the post’s caption reads.

A subsequent reverse image search focused on the yellow and green flag the soldiers are holding reveal it is a Golani Patrol flag. Additionally, the photo appears in a June 2023 article about the African Lion 2023 military exercise, which indicates that 12 members of the Golani Patrol unit participated.
Likewise, Check Your Fact found no credible news reports to support the claim. In fact, the opposite is true. Lead Stories also reported that the image is digitally altered in a Mar. 8 article. Finally, the digitally altered image is neither referenced on the IDF’s website nor on its verified social media accounts.
Check Your Fact has contacted the IDF for comment and will update this piece accordingly if one is received.

Christine Sellers

Fact Check Reporter

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