Haaretz headline about Israelis short-selling shares before Hamas attack is fabricated

By: Annet Preethi Furtado
December 12 2023

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Screenshots of the viral claim that a screenshot shows Haaretz’s headline alleging Israelis profited from betting against Israeli shares before the Hamas attack. (Source: X/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)

What's the claim?

Several social media users have shared a screenshot alleging that Haaretz, an Israeli media outlet, published a headline suggesting Israelis made millions by betting against Israeli shares before Hamas' attack. 

The purported screenshot in question displays a headline reading: "Israelis Made Millions Betting Against Israeli Shares Before October 7 Massacre! Giant gambled against Israel on the markets in Tel Aviv and Wall Street days before Hamas' attack made billions. Somebody seems to have known about the plan in advance." It features the author Ido Baum's name and includes his image. The article is dated December 4, 2023, and carries the Haaretz logo.

The screenshot of the alleged article has been shared with captions such as: "You know what they say, follow the money to find the truth. Some Israelis seemed to know in advance and sold stocks short reaping millions. To me there is no better proof that Israel sacrificed it's own people on purpose so they could commit ethic cleansing of millions of people."

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Screenshots of posts on X and Facebook. (Source: X/Facebook/Screenshots/ Modified by Logically Facts)

A study titled "Trading on Terror," published on December 4, 2023, by researchers from Columbia University and New York University (NYU), noted a significant increase in the practice of short-selling shares ahead of the events that triggered the Israel-Hamas conflict. This strategic move, aimed at capitalizing on the anticipated decline in asset prices, exceeded levels observed during other crises, including the 2007-08 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. According to NDTV reports, the researchers noted, "Days before the attack, traders appeared to anticipate the events to come." 

However, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange dismissed the findings, asserting no abnormal trading before the October 7 attack and terming the short-seller report as "flawed." The report has been reissued with a correction regarding currency units, reports CNBC. 
On December 4, Israel initiated an investigation into claims by the researchers suggesting that certain investors might have had prior knowledge of the October 7 attack and profited from it.

Haaretz did not publish the headline in question; it is an altered version of a headline published by Haaretz in early December. The original headline questioned whether Hamas, not Israel, had bet against Israeli securities.

What we found

The purported headline does not exist in the Haaretz website records or the archives of the outlet's homepage. It was also absent from the outlet's social media channels and X account archives. 

When searching keywords from the alleged headline, we came across a report by Haaretz from December 4, credited to the same author with the same strap under the headline - "Giant gambles against Israel on the markets in Tel Aviv and Wall Street days before Hamas' attack made billions. Somebody seems to have known about the plan in advance."

However, the headline attached to the article on the website reads: "Did Hamas Make Millions Betting Against Israeli Shares Before October 7 Massacre?" The online-circulated screenshot appears to be a modified version of this legitimate headline.

The altered version substitutes the word "Hamas" with "Israelis," and the original headline questioning whether "Hamas make millions betting" is modified to a statement saying that "Israelis made millions betting" against Israeli shares before the October 7 massacre. Additionally, the question mark at the end of the headline is replaced with an exclamation mark in the modified version.

Comparison of the fake headline with the authentic Haaretz headline from December 4, 2023. (Source: X/Haaretz/Screenshots/Modified by Logically Facts)

To verify the claim's accuracy, Logically Facts also contacted the purported author of the article, Ido Baum. Baum told us, "The screenshot is fake." Furthermore, Haaretz's Editor-in-Chief, Aluf Benn, confirmed to Reuters that the viral screenshot "is fake." 

Logically Facts has also contacted Haaretz. This fact-check will be updated if and when we receive a response. 

Haaretz also called the viral screenshot "fake news" in an X post. 

(Source: X)

The post also addressed the Instagram account "propagandaandco," reiterating that the circulating headline was never part of Haaretz's publications. They also included a link to the authentic article for clarification.

The verdict

Haaretz did not publish a headline claiming that Israelis made millions betting against Israeli shares before the October 7 Massacre. The screenshot in circulation is a modified version of an authentic Haaretz headline from December 4, which raised questions about whether Hamas, not Israel, had engaged in betting against Israeli securities.