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Newsweek Confuses Israeli PM with Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander

Embarrassingly, Newsweek can't tell the difference between Benjamin Netanyahu and the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force.

By October 06, 2019
Newsweek Confuses Israeli PM with Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander

The IDF’s Twitter feed has been having a bit of fun at the expense of the Iranian regime leadership. A clever meme caught the attention of, among others, Newsweek:

Does that look like Benjamin Netanyahu to you?!

In fact, the figure next to Khameini and Rouhani is actually Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s Quds Force.

A pretty embarrassing error given that Netanyahu is one of the most recognizable leaders on the world stage and not something that you’d expect from a credible news outlet.

We contacted Newsweek, which promptly fixed the error and printed the following correction:

Correction (10/4, 2:30 p.m. EDT): This story has been updated to correct the identities of the men in the original meme.

Newsweek wasn’t the only one to get it wrong though. Spare a thought for the Russian propaganda outlet Sputnik, a fine purveyor of fake news and clickbait. Given the chummy Russian relationship with the Iranians, you’d think maybe they’d get it right?

So unprofessional is Sputnik that it appears that it looks to actual media outlets such as Newsweek for its stories. This time it didn’t pay to plagiarize.

We aren’t going to hold our breath for a correction from Russian President Putin.

© Divuach Ne’eman R”A, 2025

Simon Plosker

Simon Plosker

With over two decades of experience in various non-governmental organizations in the UK and Israel, Simon Plosker returned to HonestReporting in October 2022 as Editorial Director having previously been part of the organization’s management team from 2005 to 2020.

Prior to his first spell at HonestReporting, Simon worked in Israel for NGO Monitor, BICOM, and served for a short period in the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit. He was Managing Editor of the Geneva-based NGO United Nations Watch for two years before moving back to the frontline defending Israel from media bias.

Simon has a BSoc.Sc in International Studies and Political Science from the University of Birmingham and an MSc in History of International Relations from the London School of Economics. He immigrated to Israel in 2001 from London.

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