Fact-Check: Old Video Going Viral With Misleading Claims Linked To Morocco Earthquake
Vishvas News, in its investigation, found that this video has nothing to do with the recent earthquake in Morocco. This video, purporting to be from Syria and Iraq, has been available on the internet since 2017.
- By: Umam Noor
- Published: Sep 15, 2023 at 04:38 PM
New Delhi (Vishvas News) More than 2800 people have died as a result of the terrible earthquake in Morocco. In this context, social media users are sharing a video on various platforms in which a person can be heard standing on a ruined building and giving the Azaan. The surrounding scene looks devastating. While sharing the video, users are claiming that this is a video from Morocco, where the Imam has given the Azaan after the earthquake. Vishvas News, in its investigation, found that this video has nothing to do with the recent earthquake in Morocco. This video has been available on the internet since 2017, with references to Iraq and Syria.
What’s in the viral post?
Sharing the viral post, a Facebook user (Archive) wrote, “The mosque was destroyed due to the earthquake in Morocco, but the 5-time Azaan is still going on. #Morocco.”
Investigation:
Starting our investigation, we first searched for the keyframes of the viral video through Google Lens. During the search, we found this video uploaded on March 1, 2018, on a Facebook page named ‘Showbiz Pakistan’. According to the information given here, this video is going viral on social media after the recent airstrike in Syria. However, this is an old video.
Continuing our investigation with the help of the Time Tool, we started finding this video before March 2018. During the search, we found this video uploaded on a YouTube channel on June 27, 2017, attributed to Syria. Upon further investigation, we found this video shared on the verified Facebook page of Sheikh Mohammad Aslam on June 27, 2017. According to the information given there, “In war-torn Syria, an old man is giving the Azaan in a broken mosque. They can take away everything from us, but they cannot take away our faith.”
This video was also uploaded on July 16, 2017, on a verified Twitter handle named ‘Abdul Rahman Al-Ashmawi’. In the caption, it was said to be from Iraq.
The death toll from the devastating earthquake that struck Morocco has crossed 2,000, according to reports, while rescue teams are actively working to rescue people buried under the debris. Vishvas News does not independently confirm when and where the viral video is from. However, it is clear that the viral video has been on social media since 2017 and has nothing to do with the recent earthquake in Morocco.
Safa Qasravi, a journalist of “Morocco World News,” while talking about the misleading news, told us that, “After the Morocco earthquake, many such misleading pictures and videos are being shared on social media without verifying these multimedia. Sharing on media should be avoided.”
During the social scanning of the Facebook page sharing the misleading post, we found that this page is run from Pakistan.
Conclusion: Vishvas News, in its investigation, found that this video has nothing to do with the recent earthquake in Morocco. This video, purporting to be from Syria and Iraq, has been available on the internet since 2017.
- Claim Review : Mosque demolished in Morocco, yet Azaan continues
- Claimed By : FB User Taufeek
- Fact Check : False
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