Fact Check: Mel Gibson Posted Israel's 'End' Was Coming, Adding 'That's Why They Want to Destroy Everything in the Way'?

Jordan Liles
·2 min read
1.4k
Posts claimed that Mel Gibson said Israel
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

Claim:

An image shows a Facebook post from actor Mel Gibson that references Israel with the words, "Soon the end and they know it, that's why they want to destroy everything in the way."

Rating:

Rating: Fake
Rating: Fake

In mid-October 2023, amid ongoing developments in the war in Israel and Gaza, online users shared an image of a purported Facebook post that claimed actor Mel Gibson had made a statement in support of Palestinians.

The supposed post included an image of an altered Israeli flag with an hourglass, as if to say that the country's time was running out. The words next to Gibson's name read, "Soon the end and they know it, that's why they want to destroy everything in the way."

The post apparently referenced the fact that Israel had continued to conduct airstrikes in Gaza while at the same time preparing its military for a ground assault. The war plans came in the wake of a surprise attack carried out in Israel by the militant group Hamas on Oct. 7.

Posts claimed that Mel Gibson said Israel's time was coming to an end and that's why they're destroying everything in the way.
Posts claimed that Mel Gibson said Israel's time was coming to an end and that's why they're destroying everything in the way.

However, the truth was that Gibson had no public-facing social media accounts. We also found no credible reporting that published the remark as belonging to Gibson. Further, the first few words of the caption appeared to have been a poor translation to English by the person who created the post.

While it's true that Gibson had expressed some anti-Semitic views in the past, the post in question was fake.

The independent Lebanese newspaper An-Nahar also debunked the same fake Gibson post, calling it "false and fabricated."

For the latest news regarding developments from Israel and Gaza, we recommend live updates from The Associated Press.

Sources:

Federman, Josef, and Issam Adwan. “Hamas Surprise Attack out of Gaza Stuns Israel and Leaves Hundreds Dead in Fighting, Retaliation.” The Associated Press, Oct. 7, 2023, https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-rockets-airstrikes-tel-aviv-11fb98655c256d54ecb5329284fc37d2.

Jobain, Najib, et al. “Gaza Awaits Aid from Egypt as Israel Readies Troops for Ground Assault.” The Associated Press, Oct. 19, 2023, https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-war-b084e9c453cc99f7bec6f66d7b5913d9.

“Live Updates: Gaza Health Ministry Asks Anyone with Spare Liter of Fuel to Help out Hospitals.” The Associated Press, Oct. 19, 2023, https://apnews.com/live/israel-hamas-war-news-10-19-2023.

“Mel Gibson Addresses Accusations of Anti-Semitism.” ABC News, Oct. 12, 2006, https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/LegalCenter/story?id=2557656&page=1.

“منشور للممثل الأميركي ميل غيبسون عن ‘نهاية قريية’ للصهاينة؟ إليكم الحقيقة FactCheck#.” An-Nahar, Oct. 19, 2023, https://www.annahar.com/arabic/النهارتتحقق/282687/منشور-للممثل-الأميركي-ميل-غيبسون-عن-نهاية-قريية-للصهاينة-إليكم-الحقيقة-factcheck.