Sara Netanyahu touches up official photos of herself, distorting archival record

After photographers object to editing, PM’s wife now credited on photos, in apparent acknowledgment of claims that images of historical importance are being manipulated

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has come under fire for sending out official photos in which his wife Sara’s image has been heavily retouched, some of them altered using AI technology, distorting the historical record and seemingly breaching important ethical guidelines.

In recent weeks, the manipulated pictures distributed by the Prime Minister’s Office have had Sara Netanyahu listed as a credited photographer, despite her being the subject of the photos.

The unusual credit, according to a source, was part of a compromise following complaints from Government Press Office photographers, who objected to distributing official state photos that had been edited on behalf of the premier’s wife.

The decision comes after months of scrutiny over images of Sara Netanyahu, 67, that were heavily retouched to make her appear much younger, exposing the GPO to criticism for manipulating photos, including some that captured historic moments.

An unnamed source with knowledge of the matter said that the PMO decided to credit Sara Netanyahu on the edited photos as a compromise to signal that the images were edited on her behalf without directly acknowledging so.

Ethical guidelines regarding official photos generally prohibit any manipulation that alters the content beyond minor color or brightness corrections. Changes of the type found in recent PMO photos are largely seen as undermining the credibility of Israel’s photographic record.

Some news organizations, including The Times of Israel, have halted the use of photos that carry Netanyahu’s credit or appear to have been manipulated, though it’s unclear how far back the practice goes.

GPO director Nitzan Chen told The Times of Israel that his office and the PMO’s legal department are discussing how to address photo credit for GPO images that “undergo processing not carried out by GPO photographers.”

The Justice Ministry is also reviewing the issue to clarify “criteria, limitations, and options for publications of this kind, while safeguarding the reliability and quality of GPO photographs across various platforms,” he added.

The GPO, which coordinates between the government and domestic and foreign press, is responsible for archiving and documenting the president and prime minister. The department oversees the National Photo Collection, which includes tens of thousands of photographs dating from before the 1948 establishment of the state to the present and possesses strict policies against editing or altering photos.

Chen said the edited images in question are distributed solely by the Prime Minister’s Office spokespersons and denied any GPO involvement.

“The GPO and its photographers have no involvement in the matter, and it should be addressed with the Prime Minister’s Office spokespersons,” he said.

However, the GPO has continued to distribute the altered photos alongside other PMO content regularly shared by the agency.

GPO photographs that haven’t gone through the PMO, meanwhile, have either used angles that omit Sara Netanyahu or avoid showing her face.

Critics have long argued that state photographs, including those distributed by both the PMO and GPO, were being altered to enhance Sara Netanyahu’s appearance, and only now is that practice being acknowledged, at least to a degree.

This is not the first time that Netanyahu has come under criticism for heavily editing photos of herself to appear younger; however, she had previously restricted herself to posting them on her private social media accounts and those of her associates.

Last year, the prime minister’s official X account published a photograph of the couple standing with a group of soldiers while holding a photograph of the 133 hostages then held in Gaza by terror groups.

Sara’s personal Instagram account published a close-up photograph of her with her husband at the event, in a similar pose as the first picture, holding the photograph of the hostages, but without the soldiers.

Social media users were quick to point out the stark differences between the two images of Sara, with the latter photograph showing signs of her age had been noticeably altered.