On social media, a reverse video of a man stepping into a roadside tunnel has gone viral. While sharing the video users claim that “heartbreaking images out of tel aviv today as a young man is forced to hide from the iranian bombardment”.
Moreover, several users shared this video and made similar claims. The link can be seen here, here and here
Fact Check
During the investigation, DFRAC found that the claim was false. We found a similar video on the YouTube channel of ‘The telegraph’ uploaded on 10 Jan, 2024. The viral video could be seen at the time-stamp of 2:01. The video’s description read:“A group of Hasidic Jewish worshippers were arrested amid a dispute over a tunnel secretly dug into the side of a historic Brooklyn synagogue, setting off a brawl between police and those who tried to defend the makeshift passageway”.
Furthermore, we also found multiple media reports regarding this video. According to ‘BBC News’ published on 11 Jan, 2024, a fight erupted between police and community members who dug the tunnel, after a cement truck arrived to fill it. Nine were arrested”.
Moreover, ‘the guardian’ also published this news on 11 Jan, 2024 mentioning “Investigation by city uncovered 60ft-long tunnel under historic Jewish site, extending under several buildings in vicinity”.
Conclusion
It is evident from the DFRAC’s fact check that the viral video is from New York City, not from the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict. Therefore, the claim of social media users is misleading.
