As long as the US and Israel possess nuclear weapons, we will continue working on them for our national security.
In fact, the now deceased Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, described the development and possession of nuclear weapons as religiously forbidden.
As long as the United States and Israel possess nuclear weapons, we will continue working on them for our national security.
At 12.45 am, August 6, New Delhi-based news agency, Asian News International (ANI), also reported the story, quoting "Israeli media".
It cited its source as "Israeli media", although it failed to mention any particular outlet.
A remark by the Commander in Chief of Iran's IRGC, Ahmad Vahidi, on the Islamic Republic's nuclear weapons programme was picked up by Israel's Channel 14, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and even American broadcaster Fox News. It was also shared by the American envoy to the UN. The problem? IRGC's Vahidi didn't make those remarks on the country's nuclear weapons. The source of the fake news that travelled the world has now been traced to a verified X handle based in India. And Ritika is now at the centre of the storm, which gives a glimpse into how a citation loop helps fake news reach unimaginable proportions.
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Not just global media, the fake news that has roots in India travelled the world to return home within a span of 16 hours. We will get into that later. But let us first see how a sitting Prime Minister of a friendly nation and global media outlets became victims of a fake post from an India-based handle.
According to an investigation conducted by the Israel-based news outlet, Ynet News, PM Netanyahu on August 5 repeated an alleged quote by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) chief Ahmad Vahidi, in an official address to warn Israelis about Iran's nuclear plans.
That being said, Vahidi has more or less stayed under the radar ever since his appointment as the IRGC chief. In fact, his last public appearance was on July 3 during former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's funeral. That was also the last time he had made a public statement.
So where did Netanyahu, PM of a country boasting one of the world's most formidable intelligence agencies, like Mossad, get Vahidi's statement from? According to Ynet news, the source is a tweet made by an India-based X account. Ritikaa's fabricated quote traveled the world in a span of 15 and a half hours. (Image: ITGD)
RITIKA FROM INDIA COOKS UP A VAHIDI QUOTE, WORLD FEASTS ON IT
The story starts from a tweet made by an India-based verified X handle @Im_Ritikaa with the display name 'Ritikaa'. Israel's Ynet described the account as a "very pro-Israeli", Hindu nationalist account.
According to the "About this account", the X handle was created in November 2021, is based in India, and is accessed via the X Android app.
It has been X Verified since December 2025 and has changed its username four times, with the last username change recorded in September 2022. Frequent name changes are a red flag.
The post by Ritikaa, whoever that individual might me, carried a gif with Vahidi in the foreground and explosions in the background.
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More importantly, it also carried a quote in Hindi attributed to the IRGC Supreme Commander, reading, "There will be no discussion over enriched uranium or nuclear weapons. As long as the US and Israel possess nuclear weapons, we will continue working on them for our national security. If they disarm, we will disarm."
Keep in mind, not a single Iranian figure has ever admitted to developing nuclear weapons. In fact, the now deceased Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, described the development and possession of nuclear weapons as religiously forbidden.
As such, any admission by an individual of Vahidi's rank would be a massive departure for Iran. It would have made global headlines. It would have come from Iran's multiple news agencies or international media outlets. But it came from Ritika. Ritikaa's original post which started a disinformation circle. (Image:Â @Im_Ritikaa)
HOW RITIKAA'S FABRICATED VAHIDI QUOTE WENT TO ISRAEL
Ritika's post, which was made at 9.14 am on August 5, would normally have drowned in the daily flood of disinformation that flows through the internet every day, except that it didn't.
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At 13.49 pm, an account calling itself, Mossad Commentary, which proudly flaunts itself as the unofficial social media page of Jerusalem's premier intelligence agency, Mossad, committed something most unintelligent. It used the quote attributed to General Vahidi by Ritika, and made its own post.
The Mossad Commentary post reads, "THERE WILL BE NO FINAL DEAL. THE SOONER WE UNDERSTAND THAT, THE BETTER. IRGC chief Ahmad Vahidi has again made Iran’s position clear: There will be no discussion over enriched uranium or nuclear weapons. As long as the United States and Israel possess nuclear weapons, we will continue working on them for our national security. If they disarm, we will disarm. The regime is not preparing to abandon its nuclear ambitions. It is buying time. There will be no deal."
Note, Mossad Commentary, though verified on X, is not an official Mossad account. The Associated Press (AP) previously investigated the account and reported that it impersonates Israel's intelligence agency. The Israeli military also told AP that Mossad Commentary was "clearly not an official account".
In any case, the handle amplified the fake news by Ritika, which would end up in Benjamin Netanyahu's speech. Mossad Commentary used Ritikaa's fabricated quote in a seperate post. (Image: X/MOSSADil)
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ISRAELI NEWS CHANNEL, NETANYAHU SON AMPLIFIES FAKE VAHIDI QUOTE
Bad enough, an account masquerading as Mossad had posted an abject fake quote. Now, it would be picked up and given, in the words of Ynet, a "kosher certificate" by a news channel.
YNet News and the Middle East Eye reported that at 2:22 pm, less than an hour after Mossad Commentary posted, Israel’s Channel 14 repeated the alleged Vahidi quote, describing it as the first direct admission by an Iranian official that Tehran was developing a nuclear bomb. It did not provide a primary source for the quotation.
Channel 14 News is widely regarded in Israel as a mouthpiece for Netanyahu and his far-right government. Middle East Eye said that a recent report found that the Israeli government had bought millions of shekels worth of commercial airtime from Channel 14 in recent years.
But Channel 14 airing it was not the end of the story. At 2.49 pm, Ynet reported that Yair Netanyahu, the prime minister's eldest son, reposted content from the two Israeli accounts to his near 300,000 followers on X.
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Yair Netanyahu is one of the most influential figures in the PM's inner circle, with numerous reports indicating that he and his mother, Sara Netanyahu, are heavily involved in the PM's decision-making. Netanyahu's eldest son is known for promoting far-right politics and false information through his social media accounts, with many of Netanyahu's Likud party members seeking his approval, reported the Middle East Eye. Israel's Channel 14 reports Ritikaa's fabricated quote as breaking news. (Image: @c14english)
RITIKA'S QUOTE ENDS UP IN BENJAMIN NETANYAHU'S SPEECH
So far, the quote dreamt up by Ritika had only been circulating in a few social media accounts, a news outlet friendly to the current regime in Jerusalem, and unfortunately amplified by the PM's eldest son.
Then, PM Benjamin Netanyahu dropped the proverbial bomb.
According to the YNet report, at 5.02 pm, at a state ceremony held on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, Netanyahu was quoted as saying, "Today we heard that the Commander of the IRGC, Vahidi, explicitly stated the Islamic Republic's intention to continue developing nuclear weapons, as he himself said 'continuing'."
He went on to add, "Well, as Prime Minister of Israel, I am determined to continue. Determined to prevent the Islamic Republic from acquiring nuclear weapons." Ritika's fabricated quote ended up in a speech by PM Benjamin Netanyahu, that was later posted by one of the social media handles of the Israeli Foreign Ministry. (Image: X/@IsraelPersian)
FOX NEWS GETS FOXED BY RITIKA'S IRAN N-BOMB
Then the proverbial floodgates opened. After PM Netanyahu made his statement, many in the US also jumped on the bandwagon.
According to Ynet, at 5.35 pm, Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the United Nations, reposted the Channel 14 report before later deleting it. US conservative commentator Mark Levin also reposted it.
Fox News later reported at 10.01 pm that General Ahmd Vahidi had declared Iran would continue working on nuclear weapons as long as the US and Israel possessed them. The outlet subsequently clarified its report, saying the remarks "were previously taken out of context and amplified as comments made this week".
The alleged quote continued to circulate in Israeli media, with journalists close to Netanyahu, including Yaakov Bardugo and Avishay Ben Haim, repeating the prime minister's warning on Israeli television, Ynet reported.
The Israeli foreign ministry's Persian-language official account on X also posted Netanyahu's remarks about Vahidi.
Meanwhile, in a classic citation loop, the X account Mossad Commentary, which had initially brought Ritika’s fabricated Vahidi quote to the attention of Israeli audiences, changed tack at 8:56 pm, claiming in a separate post that Channel 14 was its source. In reality, Channel 14 had obtained the quote from Mossad Commentary. Fox News later issued a clarification on August 7 after reporting Ritika's quotes as news. (Image: Fox News)
RITIKA'S CHICKENS COME HOME TO ROOST IN INDIA
According to Ynet news, 15 and a half hours after Ritika from India had made a post containing a fabricated quote, attributed to the IRGC's Supreme Commander in Chief, the chicken returned home to roost.
At 12.45 am, August 6, New Delhi-based news agency, Asian News International (ANI), also reported the story, quoting "Israeli media".
The news agency stated in its copy, "Commander-in-Chief of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Ahmad Vahidi has said that Iran will continue working on nuclear weapons as long as the United States and Israel possess them." It cited its source as "Israeli media", although it failed to mention any particular outlet. News agency ANI reported Vahidi's quote, citing Israeli media. (Image: ANI)
In any case, there are but two takeaways. One, always verify whatever information you come upon in the vast expanses of the internet and social media. And two, Ritika from India, whomsoever that might be, managed to take several news outlets and a sitting prime minister of a powerful country for quite a ride.
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