Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
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.
Claim
Palestinian father tells his daughter to laugh every time she hears an air strike so that she does not get scared.
The archived version of the tweet can be seen here.
Fact
Newschecker ran a reverse image search of keyframes of the video, which led us to this Reddit post, dated February 18, 2020, sharing the same video, stating that a Syrian father taught his daughter to laugh when she heard bombs so she didn’t get scared.
A relevant keyword search led us to this Youtube video, uploaded by Guardian News, dated February 18, 2020, stating, “In a video posted on social media, Abdullah Mohammad and his daughter Salwa, three, can be heard laughing at the sound of shelling in Syria. Mohammad, who moved his family from Idlib to Sarmada district, has tried to insulate his daughter from trauma by telling her the noise of bombs is part of a game. In September 2018, Turkey and Russia agreed to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone in which acts of aggression are prohibited, but since then more than 1,800 civilians have been killed in attacks by the Assad regime and Russian forces.” Similar reports can be seen here, here and here, confirming that the viral video is not related to the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.
Also Read: Fake ‘India Today’ Report On ‘AIIMS-Made’ Medicine Against Hypertension Goes Viral
Result: False
Sources
Youtube video, Guardian News, February 18, 2020
NDTV report, February 18, 2020
Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
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.
