Much of the onus for the gaffe is on Asif. You'd think that a major political figure would be extra-skeptical of news sources, and would think twice before sending tweets hinting at the use of weapons that could kill millions of people. However, this illustrates the importance of fighting fake news, whether it's by downplaying its presence, blocking it or starving it of ad money. Just because you're in a position of power doesn't mean you can't be tricked by a plausible-looking fantasy piece -- reducing or fact-checking fake news can prevent these political incidents from happening in the future.

@KhawajaMAsif The statement attributed to fmr Def Min Yaalon re Pakistan was never said — Ministry of Defense (@Israel_MOD) December 24, 2016