A Facebook (FB) user has published a reel showing people screaming while running as well as images of destruction being passed off as incidents taking place in Israel. Not true. The clips were taken in Mexico and Romania, far away from the center of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
An FB user published the spurious Tiktok video as FB reel on Oct. 20, with this superimposed text: “Today Israel [Israel flag emoji] Ya Allah [Heart emoji] [Fist emoji] Octobre 2023”
A reverse image search revealed that the clips were taken in 2022 and in no way related to the war between Israel and Hamas which started in early October.
One of the clips shows a huge crowd rushing towards an open space in Mexico while another shows rooftops of buildings in Romania being blown away by strong winds.
Note: Click on the photos to view its original source.
The video emerged as the casualty count in the war between the Israeli military and Hamas militants continued to rise despite calls for a ceasefire.
The FB user’s short video has since garnered 10,500 reactions, 4,100 shares and 475,000 views.
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(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)