Megha Bajaj 
A video is getting viral on social media platforms. In this video, Substantial destruction can be seen in the heart of France – Paris amid deadly violence and protests in France. France has been boiling since a week after the fatal killing of a 17-year-old Teenager by the French Police.
A user by the name of Uzzi posted a video on Twitter and wrote: “# Paris has been fallen down!! #France #France Riots #France Has Fallen #Paris # France Protest #france violence #RIP Twitter #Francia”.
Another user by the name of Mujeeb Ur Rehman posted a similar video on Twitter with the same caption.
Fact-Check
The team of DFRAC has converted this viral video into keyframes to know the truth behind this viral video. During this process, the team found some similar videos on various websites and social media platforms.
The official account of Ukraine’s government named ‘Defense of Ukraine’ posted a video on Twitter and wrote:” #ifwefallyoufall @NATO close the sky over Ukraine”.
A news website ‘Al Jazeera English‘ posted a video on its YouTube account with the title “Ukraine steps up its no-fly zone calls with ‘Paris attack’ video”. Al Jazeera English claimed that Ukraine’s defence ministry shared a simulated video depicting a military attack on Paris, stepping up calls on Western powers to impose a no-fly zone over the country. However, this is an AI-generated video.
Website Forbes published news with a similar video, captioning: “Ukraine’s Promotion Of Fake Paris Bombing Video Highlights Risks Of Misinformation”. In this news, Forbes revealed that the graphic footage, which contains moments from France’s destruction, is in fact, being promoted by the Ukrainian government and other news websites to send the message that what is happening in their home country and it could happen to other democracies as well. This move of the Ukrainian government is severely criticized by misinformation experts, calling it potentially dangerous.
Conclusion
It is clear from DFRAC’s Fact-Check that the viral video does not indicate the devastation of France. This viral video is associated with Ukraine which is being promoted on social media platforms as the violence and destruction in France.
Hence, this viral video is fake.
Siddharth Urmil 
