Images and videos have been shared with claims they were taken from Russia’s launch of missiles in Ukraine. Two of these videos have gained a lot of traction.
One claiming to show bodies of Ukrainians in body bags during a live broadcast has garnered over 3,500 views on Facebook and more than 6,000 views on Twitter. Another claiming to show a young girl confronting a Russian soldier has received similar attention.
Background
War, propaganda and misinformation thrive in the same ecosystem and as expected, truth is oftentimes a casualty. This is not the first time the world is experiencing this kind of misinformation propagated during a war.
Sarah Burns, a professor of Political Science says, “countries at war attempt to unify by establishing a black-and-white understanding of morality. The opposition is often slandered through propaganda campaigns and the effects are often magnified by the media.”
Verification
The first video showing dead bodies in a street was taken on February 4, 2022. This according to reverse image searches was taken during a ‘die-in’ climate policy protest in Austria. An advanced search on Google shows that this same video had previously been miscaptioned as that of “COVID-19 crisis actors.” Later in a fact-check, Reuters established that this protest was covered in Vienna, Austria.
The other showing a girl standing up to a soldier was taken in Palestine. In an article published on August 30, 2015, Ahed Tamimi also known as Shirley Temper was charged with five counts of assault for kicking and slapping an Israeli soldier. She served eight months in a Palestinian prison. From this viral video, Ahed was considered the symbol of “Palestinian resistance.” In 2012, the BBC says, “at least 167 Palestinians and six Israelis were killed during an Israeli operation.”
Verdict
These videos are NOT related to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
This story was produced by Africa Uncensored in partnership with Code for Africa with support from Deutsche Welle Akademie.
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