A Filipino Facebook user uploaded a reel showing supposed Iranian refugees taking shelter in the mountains amidst the ongoing war between Iran and Israel. This is false.
The footage shows Afghan refugees from 2023. It has nothing to do with the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Uploaded on June 19, the 11-second video included overlaid text that read:
“IRANIANS MAS PINILI ANG UMAKYAT SA BUNDOK PARA SA KALIGTASAN (Iranians chose to climb up the mountain for safety) “
Its caption included hashtags mentioning Iran and Israel.
A reverse image search revealed that the original footage was posted on Aug. 6, 2023 by TikTok user imranafghan162. The post gained over 4.2 million views and 204,700 likes, with a caption containing the hashtags “iranborder” and “turkey.”
In an article published on Aug. 16, 2023, Yeniçağ Gazetesi, an online news site of a Turkish newspaper, reported that the video shows Afghan refugees crossing the Iranian border to Turkey.
The footage, which went viral on social media, garnered backlash as illegal immigrants continued to enter the Turkish border amidst criticism of the country’s immigration policies and border security.
Other Afghan, Syrian and Pakistani refugees have been reported to have made videos that others used as guides.
The false video began circulating among Filipino netizens as attacks between Israel and Iran escalated.
As of writing, the reel posted by Facebook user Aliyah Algre has garnered over 8.3 million views, 5,400 comments and 5,700 shares
Editor’s note: This fact check was produced with the help of a journalism student of the University of the Philippines Diliman as part of their internship at VERA Files
