‘Mossad agent Eli Kopter’: Israeli joke sparks wave of conspiracy theories on Raisi’s death

Following the reports that emerged on Sunday regarding the helicopter crash of President Ebrahim Raisi, social media users in Israel celebrated the death of the Iranian leader. 

One of the jokes that garnered success stated, “The pilot is a Mossad agent named Eli Kopter.”

The joke spread quickly and reached social networks around the world. Many users, unaware that it was a joke, took it seriously, and many even shared it as a sign of the success of Israeli intelligence.

For example, a presenter on the French-language Israeli news channel i24news quoted the story based on a Telegram channel post. The social media platform Reddit also cited the story from the same Telegram channel – which generated an entire discussion about the success of Israeli intelligence, alongside those who immediately recognized that it was a joke and responded accordingly (“The co-pilot was Avi Ron”).

In parallel, according to a report on Iran International, the conspiracy theories surrounding the Mossad’s involvement in the event did not stop there, and the out-of-control joke reached the official Hamas Telegram channel, which cited it as a fact.

Official cause of crash unknown 

Meanwhile, the official cause of the helicopter accident, an American “Bell 212” model, is still unclear. Stormy weather prevailed in the region with the return of the presidential entourage from neighboring Azerbaijan. Two other helicopters that were in the convoy landed safely. The Iranian Red Crescent said overnight that 73 teams had been dispatched to the site marked by the Turkish drone and were moving towards the area. The site is about a hundred kilometers from the city of Tabriz.

i24NEWS said in response, “We regret the mistake that happened live and apologize to the viewers. We will learn from the incident and do everything possible so that mistakes of this type do not happen again.”