New Delhi: In the midst of the escalating tensions between Israel and Palestine, a wave of misinformation has flooded social media platforms, intensifying the confusion and fear already prevalent in the region. Alt News, a trusted fact-checking organization, has diligently examined five viral videos that have been circulating online, each purportedly depicting various aspects of the ongoing conflict. The comprehensive fact-check has provided clarity and dispelled the misleading narratives surrounding these videos.
Claim 1: Evacuation of Airports Near Gaza
One of the viral videos in question was shared by Ashlea Simon, chairperson of the Right-Wing British political party Britain First.
Israeli Defence forces are now evacuating Air Bases near Gaza as thousands of terrorists flood into Israel.
— Ashlea Simon (@AshleaSimonBF) October 7, 2023
This situation is just escalating.#Israel #Hamas #Palestine #Palestinian #IronDome #Gaza #TelAviv
pic.twitter.com/mcI9WyWSt8
The video showed fighter jets being transported on trucks, accompanied by a claim that the Israeli Defense Forces were evacuating airports near Gaza due to an influx of terrorists. Alt News undertook a thorough reverse image search and found the same footage in a tweet dated September 15, well before the current conflict began on October 7. This evidence established that the video was unrelated to the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.
בנתיים בנגב
— Asslan Khalil (@KhalilAsslan) September 13, 2023
מטוסי קרב מדגם אף 16 משונעים בכביש הפתוח pic.twitter.com/Y59B4oJvMD
Claim II: Paratroopers Landing in Israeli Territory
Another video shared by far-Right YouTuber Jackson Hinkle depicted paratroopers descending on a stately building, with the assertion that these were Palestinian fighters landing in Israeli territory.
🇮🇱🇵🇸 If this much damage has been done by a few motorized paragliders and moped militias, I can’t imagine what will happen if this unfolds into a full blown Arab conflict. Praying for peace. pic.twitter.com/eqrrycOqZE
— Jackson Hinkle 🇺🇸 (@jacksonhinklle) October 8, 2023
Alt News investigation led to identify the building as the Egyptian Military Academy. By comparing the video frames with official imagery from the academy's website, Alt News confirmed the video's origin in Egypt, not Israel.
Claim III: Alleged Kidnapped Jew from Gaza
A video featuring a man and a young girl, claimed to be a kidnapped Jew from Gaza, surfaced on social media, stirring outrage and fear.
#Hamas terrorist with kidnapped Jewish baby girl in #Gaza.
— Faraz Pervaiz (@FarazPervaiz3) October 9, 2023
The caption in Arabic reads “ A lost girl”. This is our enemy. #Israel #HamasTerrorism #IsraelAtWar #IsraelUnderFire pic.twitter.com/UlhyhVfFcf
The video bore a TikTok watermark belonging to user @izzeddin_masama. Despite the account's deletion, further analysis revealed that the video had been uploaded on September 9, a month before the conflict began on October 7. This information discredited the claim and proved that the video was unrelated to the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.
Fake!
— Charles Weber (@CWBOCA) October 9, 2023
Girl is not Jewish and was posted a month ago.https://t.co/ZwAvPVZCJZ
Claim IV: Fireworks in Gaza After Israeli Air Strikes
Yet another video depicting fireworks illuminating the night sky over a city was misleadingly shared as a celebration in Gaza after Israeli air strikes on Hamas locations. The video bore a TikTok username (@ramiguerfi41) and was connected to the conflict. However, a investigation uncovered that the video was uploaded on September 28, days before the Hamas attack on Israel. The video was not connected to the ongoing conflict, thus refuting the claim made by those sharing it.
Fireworks in Gaza as #ısrael
— Ritu #जिष्णु (@RituRathaur) October 8, 2023
launches air strikes on locations of #HamasTerrorists
This is the only way to counter zlamic violence, they don't understand the language of love & peace. pic.twitter.com/f5kxA37wzL
Alt News traced the video back to a tweet by former Palestinian authority spokesperson and political analyst Nour Odeh, dated May 13. This finding irrefutably proved that the video was old and not from the ongoing conflict, thus debunking the claim made by Ahmed and others.
This video, published on September 28, 2023 here https://t.co/nOpVcWGM8S, does not show Gaza. pic.twitter.com/szrFir6C2c
— 49742773204f6b20746f20234c6561726e🫐 (@546f436f6465) October 8, 2023
Claim V: Building Destruction in Gaza
Journalist Sulaiman Ahmed, associated with The Round Table Show, shared a video showcasing a building being destroyed in an airstrike, linking it to the current conflict and reporting casualties.
BREAKING: CASUALTY UPDATE -
— Sulaiman Ahmed (@ShaykhSulaiman) October 7, 2023
The Palestinian Health Ministry reports that according to preliminary data:
161 people were killed and 931 injured as a result of the Israeli strike on the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli Government has said: at least 40 Israelis dead, 750 injured… pic.twitter.com/B2j0pNsBgV
Alt News traced the video back to a tweet by former Palestinian authority spokesperson and political analyst Nour Odeh, dated May 13. This finding irrefutably proved that the video was old and not from the ongoing conflict, thus debunking the claim made by Ahmed and others.
This airstrike leveled an entire residential building in Gaza City’s AlZaitoun neighborhood. https://t.co/lawJ2Ya8zC pic.twitter.com/804c8nbjoy
— Nour Odeh 🇵🇸 #NojusticeNopeace (@nour_odeh) May 13, 2023
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New Delhi: Election Commission of India’s official results website ‘results.eci.gov.in’ has reportedly experienced a technical outage on Saturday morning, at a time when India closely watches the high-stakes Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly poll battle.
Visitors visiting the site were met with non-functional links and a generic “counting in progress” message, leaving them without updated election data. The ECI has not issued an official explanation for the disruption.
Vote counting, which began at 8 a.m. with postal ballots, is underway for 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra and 81 in Jharkhand. Early trends suggest a lead for the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra, currently ahead in 141 seats, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is leading in 96. In Jharkhand, the BJP-led NDA is ahead in 43 seats, while the ruling JMM-led alliance is trailing with leads in 33 constituencies.
Additionally, counting is underway for 48 assembly bypolls across 13 states and two parliamentary seats, Nanded in Maharashtra and Wayanad in Kerala.