Israel’s Channel 12 aired a fake flydubai passenger — Jerusalem Post

In Israel, Channel 12 invited a man to a live broadcast who posed as a passenger on a flydubai flight to Tel Aviv. The flight had been mentioned in reports of a possible attempted plane hijacking. As The Jerusalem Post reports, during an interview with reporter Tamir Steinman, the man claimed that the plane had allegedly begun gaining and losing altitude, while one of the passengers was shouting “Allahu Akbar.”

False testimony on air

The man also claimed that passengers feared there were problems with the pilot and that the plane could crash. According to him, people in the cabin did not understand what was happening at the front of the aircraft and were under intense pressure.

Doubts about the truthfulness of the account arose when Steinman asked the interlocutor who he was with. The man replied that he was with his brother Nevo, and later added that this was short for the name Nebuchadnezzar. It then became clear that the interlocutor had not been a passenger on the flight.

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Statement by the man’s friend

One of the man’s friends later wrote that it had been a pre-planned attempt to mislead Israeli media. According to him, he had warned Channel 14 staff of the intention to pose as a passenger, while the man simultaneously contacted Channel 12 News researchers, passed preliminary screening, and went on air within minutes.

The friend also claimed that the man had invented details about himself and his alleged brother, and ended the conversation himself when he decided the joke had become too awkward. He stated that the production team did not stop the interview in time. Channel 12 declined to comment.