Authors
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Ruby leads editorial, operations and initiatives at Newschecker. In her former avatar at New Delhi Television (NDTV), India’s leading national news network, she was a news anchor, supervising producer and senior output editor. Her over a decade-long career encompasses ground-breaking reportage from conflict zones and reporting on terror incidents, election campaigns, and gender issues. Ruby is an Emmy-nominated producer and has handled both local and international assignments, including the coverage of Arab Spring in 2011, the US Presidential elections in 2016, and ground reportage on the Kashmir issue since 2009.
Claim
Video showing prohibited white phosphorus use in Gaza by Israel air force
Fact check
We initiated the process by breaking down the video into multiple keyframes and then proceeded to perform a reverse image search using Yandex.
This led us to a number of relevant results, among them a YouTube post by the Indonesian news outlet, Tribune News, posted on March 14, 2023. The description associated with the video indicated its origin in Ukraine.
“Incendiary ammunition reportedly rained down on the city of Vuhledar in Ukraine. Vladimir Putin is said to have used a deadly thermite bomb which could burn everything and create hell in Ukraine. Over the weekend, Russian incendiary munitions rained down on Vuhledar in Ukraine, which has been completely destroyed by brutal fighting,” a translation of the caption read.
A keyword search for the terms “Incendiary munition” and “Vuhledar Ukraine” yielded several news reports that featured matching keyframes from the viral video.
Detailing that Russia had used the “cruel” munition on Ukrainian cities like Bakhmut, one such report on the Mirror.Co.UK read, “However, other towns have also come under fire, including the key strategic mining town of Vuhledar, where shocking footage shows so-called “thermite rain” plummeting on the town from above.”
Similar reports were also published in The Sun, and The Daily Mirror.
Thus we find that the video claiming to show the use of incendiary munition on Gaza by Israel is false, and is actually from Ukraine.
Also read: Viral Image Of Netanyahu Sending His Son To The Army Is From 2014
Result: False
Our sources
Report published by Mirror.Co.UK, dated March 12, 2023
Report published by The Sun, dated March 12, 2023
Report published by The Daily Mirror, dated March 12, 2023
Video posted by Tribune News on YouTube, dated March 14, 2023
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Authors
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Ruby leads editorial, operations and initiatives at Newschecker. In her former avatar at New Delhi Television (NDTV), India’s leading national news network, she was a news anchor, supervising producer and senior output editor. Her over a decade-long career encompasses ground-breaking reportage from conflict zones and reporting on terror incidents, election campaigns, and gender issues. Ruby is an Emmy-nominated producer and has handled both local and international assignments, including the coverage of Arab Spring in 2011, the US Presidential elections in 2016, and ground reportage on the Kashmir issue since 2009.
