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.

Read more at The Daily Beast.