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This Video Doesn't Show Saudi Defense Ministers Running Away From Fireworks At Chinese Embassy
Writer: Jakir Hassan
A journalist at heart loves the in-depth work of reporting, writing, editing, research, and data analysis. A digital and social media enthusiast.
India, 28 Aug 2022 10:26 AM GMT
Editor : Bharat Nayak |
As the founding editor, Bharat had been heading the newsroom during the formation years of the organization and worked towards editorial policies, conceptualizing and designing campaign strategies and collaborations. He believes that through the use of digital media, one could engage the millennial's in rational conversations about pertinent social issues, provoking them to think and bring a behavioral change accordingly.
Creatives : Jakir Hassan
A journalist at heart loves the in-depth work of reporting, writing, editing, research, and data analysis. A digital and social media enthusiast.
We found that the video doesn’t show a real incident in Saudi Arabia but a 2019 mock drill in Kuwait. The mock drill took place at the fifth Gulf Defence and Aviation Exhibition, was held from 10 to 12 December 2019 at the Kuwait International Fairground.
A viral video shows a man in a headscarf surrounded by security guards fleeing in panic after a series of loud sounds are heard in the video. The video is being circulated with the claim that the men in headscarves are Saudi Defense Ministers who arrived at the Chinese Embassy for the celebrations of the Chinese New Year.
Claim:
The viral video shows a man with a headscarf stepping out of a vehicle surrounded by guards. He greets another man and starts walking toward the entrance of the building. However, loud disturbances can be heard in the video, which prompts the security guards to escort the man with the headscarf to the car quickly.
The translated claim from Hindi reads as, "These are the Saudi Defense Ministers who had arrived at the Chinese Embassy to attend the celebration of the Chinese New Year. The Chinese officers had arranged fireworks to welcome him, but the Minister did not know this. See what happens, and enjoy yourself."
Netizens claimed that the Saudi defence minister and his wife were shocked by sudden fireworks when they were visiting the Chinese Embassy.
Journalist Vivek Tripathi of ABP Ganga circulated the video with a similar claim but later deleted his tweet.
The Logical Indian received several messages on our WhatsApp fact check no. +91-6364000343 requesting to fact check the claim.
Screengrabs of requests received on the TLI WhatsApp fact check number
Fact Check:
The Logical Indian fact check team verified the viral claim and found it to be false. We found that the video doesn't show a real incident in Saudi Arabia but a 2019 mock drill in Kuwait
We used InVid's Keyframe Analysis to isolate the keyframes of the video. Then we conducted a reverse image search on the keyframes and came across this video by the Facebook page Clock News Agency.
The video, uploaded on December 13, 2019, apparently shows a military exercise with guards in Kuwait.
Through the reverse image search, we came across a report by Aos Fatos, a Brazilian fact-check website. The report debunked the claim saying that it does not show an attempted assassination of Saudi Arabia's prince, Mohammad bin Salman.
We also came across a video on YouTube uploaded on December 12, 2019, 'Training of the Amiri Guard in the fairgrounds.. this is how it is handled when characters are shot".
The video shows a military rehearsal that took place on December 12 in Kuwait, as per the report. It is noted that several indicators prove that the video is a staged one. These indicators inlcude the people who are filming the scene not being scared. The crowd of people also breaks out into laughter sometimes in the video.
The report includes a tweet by a user @AlhadathQ8 with the caption, Gulf Defense and Aviation Exhibition | A fake military show by the Emiri Guard". The tweet was published on December 12, 2019. In the tweet, a recording of the viral video is attached, taken from a different angle. The news anchor says this is a video of a staged military show by the Amiri guards at the Gulf Defense and AVSON exhibition.
In our Fact Check, we also came across this post on Instagram by the Kuwait Army. The post included the incident shown in the viral video but from a different angle. The caption reads, "This is a part of the Amiri Guard's display that was held during the 5th Gulf Defense and Aviation Exhibition, held from 10 to 12 December 2019 at the Kuwait fairground."
We conducted a keyword search for the 5th Gulf Defense and Aviation Exhibition and came across this report by the Kuwait Times. The report stated that two hundred and twelve leading international companies across 32 countries in the fields of defense and armament had participated in the 5th Gulf Defense and Aerospace exhibition and conference.
Conclusion:
In our Fact Check, we found that the video doesn't show a real incident in Saudi Arabia but a 2019 mock drill in Kuwait. The mock drill took place at the fifth Gulf Defence and Aviation Exhibition and was held from 10 to 12 December 2019 at the Kuwait International Fairground. Thus, we can ascertain that the viral video is circulated with a false claim.
If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343.
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