Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem has become the target of ridicule in Lebanon and across Arab social media after quoting a purported Israeli commentator during a major speech — only for checks to find that neither the writer nor the article he cited appears to exist.
Qassem delivered the speech Friday evening to mark 20 years since the Second Lebanon War. About 22 minutes into his remarks, while criticizing the Lebanese government and its direct negotiations with Israel, he introduced what he described as the writings of a Jewish thinker named “Moshe Yair,” whom he said worked for the Yedioth Ahronoth media group, which also includes ynet and its English-language arm ynet Global.
Qassem presented the purported article as evidence supporting Hezbollah’s argument that Israel was exploiting what the Iran-backed terrorist group portrays as the naivete of Lebanon’s political leadership.
“The text I am reading to you was written after the framework agreement,” Qassem said. “I am embarrassed by some of the expressions, but I will read the text as it is. I have nothing to do with its content or these expressions.”
He then read aloud an excerpt from what he claimed Yair had written in Yedioth Ahronoth, the daily newspaper and ynet’s parent publication.
“Fortunately for us, they [the Lebanese government] sent a delegation that loves Israel and America more than its own country,” the purported passage said. It went on to attack Lebanese officials as foolish and accuse them of helping Israel “occupy their country, whether they realize it or not.”
There was one problem: No such commentator appears to exist, much less work for Yedioth Ahronoth.
The episode quickly became fodder for Lebanese and Arab media, particularly outlets and commentators opposed to Hezbollah.
Adding to the questions, Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar omitted the passage about the supposed Israeli commentator when it published a transcript of Qassem’s speech on its website. The remarks, however, remained audible in the accompanying video. It was unclear whether the omission reflected awareness that the attribution was false.
Lebanese media goes looking for ‘Moshe Yair’
Lebanese broadcaster Al-Jadeed reported that it had attempted to establish the identity of “Moshe Yair” but could find no such writer at Yedioth Ahronoth.
The broadcaster noted that Qassem had relied on the quotation to bolster his political argument, despite the apparent absence of both its supposed author and an original article.
The opening of US-mediated talks between Israel and Lebanon
(Photo: Israeli Embassy in Washington)
The fictitious persona also appears to predate Qassem’s speech.
For some time, pro-Hezbollah and pro-Iranian social media accounts and websites have circulated articles attributed to a supposed Yedioth Ahronoth writer named Moshe Yair. Their content typically aligns with narratives promoted by Hezbollah.
Al-Jadeed raised the possibility that the identity was invented to circulate political messages under the guise of an Israeli source, giving them greater credibility among Arab audiences.
An online search also found that the passage Qassem read had circulated months earlier without a credible original source.
On June 10, the Lebanese website Al-Haqa'iq published the text and attributed it to “Jewish thinker Moshe Meir” — rather than Moshe Yair — supposedly of Yedioth Ahronoth.
‘The article does not exist’
MTV Lebanon, an outspoken opponent of Hezbollah, seized on the episode Sunday.
“The article does not exist, and neither does the Jewish thinker by that name,” the broadcaster wrote.
It described the supposed author as an invention by media outlets aligned with the Iran-led axis, accusing them of relying on fabricated material and artificial intelligence-generated images and videos to manufacture “imaginary victories” or damage their opponents
“The senior figure in Iran’s most important arm in the region becomes an object of ridicule as he quotes an article that was never written,” MTV said.
The episode also prompted mockery on social media, with some users questioning whether Qassem had simply fallen for unreliable pro-Hezbollah sources or had been involved in promoting the fabrication himself.
An X post by Lebanese journalist Sawsan Mhanna mocking Qassem
Lebanese journalist Sawsan Mhanna mocked the Hezbollah leader on X.
“If I weren’t afraid of being accused of normalization, I would personally contact Yedioth Ahronoth and ask them: Where are you hiding Moshe Yair?” she wrote.
“If Naim doesn’t have a smartphone to search for him, he should assign the task to the brothers in Hezbollah. Maybe they can find Yair before he quotes him in his next speech.”