Russian Propagandist Sounds Alarm Over Mossad Agent ‘Eli Copter’

Russian propagandist Vladimir Solovyov says the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi should really be viewed as a potential “political murder”—because have you seen the reports that the pilot was a Mossad agent named “Eli Copter?”

In an episode of his show on Rossiya 1 late Monday, Solovyov raged against those who celebrated the death of Ebrahim Raisi and took on a stern tone as he fell for a viral internet meme that exploded in the wake of the Iranian leader’s death.

Citing “a French channel,” Solovyov aired a clip from a French-language segment of an Israeli TV network in which the anchor told viewers that Hamas “claims the helicopter pilot was a Mossad agent” named “Eli Copter.” The anchor, Daniel Haik, has already been widely mocked for taking the internet joke at face value and reciting it on-air.

Solovyov has apparently become the second TV host to fall for it, and he was not immediately corrected by any of his studio guests after repeating the absurd claim.

Instead, he used it to sow doubt about an Israeli official’s statement that the country was not involved in the chopper crash.

“When Israel says, ‘No, no, it was not us.’ If it was you, would you confess?” Solovyov said. “They want us to believe them?”

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