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.
Claim
Palestinians are ‘staging deaths’ in front of international media following the Israeli attack.
Fact
The footage is from a 2013 anti-military protest demonstration by university students at Cairo, Egypt.
Amidst the large-scale armed retaliation by Israel on Gaza following the terrorist attack by Hamas early on October, a 1.47 min video is circulating on social media purportedly depicting dead bodies covered in white cloth. Users sharing the video allege that Palestinians in Gaza are staging deaths to gain international sympathy. The video seemingly shows moving bodies beneath the white sheets. The viral post can be seen here.
Many X users have shared the post with the same claim. Those posts can be seen here, here and here.
The video has also been posted on Facebook by many users and made the same claim. The posts containing the viral video can be seen here, here and here.
Fact Check / Verification
In order to ascertain the fact of the viral video, Newschecker has conducted a Google and Yandex reverse image search with the screen grabs from the viral video. During this process, we came across several Web Links & YouTube links which carried the viral video. One such video link published by CNN on September 8, 2013, revealed that the video was neither recent nor related to the recent Israel-Palestine conflict.
The report featuring the video indicated that it was captured during a protest organised by the students of the Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, and published on 28th October, 2013 by جريدة البديل YouTube channel, and does not show the aftermath of Hamas’ attack on Israel in October 2023. Hence the video is 10 years old.
The title of the YouTube video read, “A representation of dead bodies inside Al-Azhar University,” and the video’s description stated that it showed a demonstration of Muslim Brotherhood students.
We then conducted a Google Key-word search with “Student Protests at Egypt’s Al-Azhar University”, during which we found many news report by VOA News, Reuters etc published on 20 & 21 October, 2013 respectively, revealing similar details.
Conclusion
Thus, Newschecker investigation has revealed that the viral video is neither recent nor connected to the Israel-Palestine conflict. The video is in fact 10-year-old, and shows a student protest in Egypt’s Al Azhar University.
Result: False
Our Sources:
1. Report published by VOA News, dated October 21, 2013
2. Report published by Reuters, dated October 21, 2013
3. Video published by جريدة البديل, dated October 28, 2023
4. Report published by CNN, dated September 08, 2013
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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.
