Video from 2013 protest in Cairo misrepresented to falsely claim Palestinians are staging deaths
CLAIM: A video showing bodies moving after being covered by white cloths is evidence that deaths are being faked by Palestinians and Hamas during the Israel-Hamas war.
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The video is from 2013 and shows students protesting at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt.
THE FACTS: As the death toll from the Israel-Hamas war rises, social media users have shared posts making false accusations that “crisis actors” and “staged” events are being used to exaggerate the human toll being taken by the war.
A video circulating widely on social media in recent days pans across multiple bodies covered with white cloths, stopping at times to highlight movement. At one point, the camera cuts to a close-up as the cloth on one body is lifted to reveal a man who is laughing.
“Wake up World They think you are fools! The masters of fake news,” reads one caption on the video shared on Instagram. “Welcome the palestinians & their Hamas”
The video was shared on other platforms including X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
But the video has been online since 2013. The original video was published on Oct. 28, 2013, by an Egyptian news outlet on YouTube. It shows students protesting at Al-Azhar University in Cairo. “A representation of dead bodies inside Al-Azhar University,” reads the translated video title.
“Dozens of Muslim Brotherhood students at Al-Azhar University organized a massive demonstration in front of the college administration building,” reads the video description.
The Associated Press reported on Oct. 20, 2013, that the students were supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, who was overthrown by the military about a year after taking office.
The AP has fact-checked multiple posts that have made false accusations about victims of the Israel-Hamas war. The video was circulating in recent days where the Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war has reached 8,306 the AP reported on Tuesday.
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This is part of AP’s effort to address widely shared misinformation, including work with outside companies and organizations to add factual context to misleading content that is circulating online. Learn more about fact-checking at AP.
