Wrong. A GIF is an image format. It literally means “graphical interchange format”. A gif displays single image frames in sequence with timings between each frame. When the frames of the gif end, the frames restart from the beginning and so they are often seen to loop. Technically a gif can play indefinitely. It’s just annoying to see people ascribe gif as basically video.
I think this is similar to how the public has mistakenly understood "HDR" to mean a software local contrast enhancement effect and dialing in highlights/shadows, whereas true HDR doesn't refer to software and requires either advanced sensor hardware or multiple exposures.
