Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Fake audio purporting to be producer’s voice added to CNN video of journalists taking cover in Israel

  • This article is more than one year old.
  • Published on October 13, 2023 at 12:45
  • 4 min read
  • By Mary KULUNDU, AFP Kenya

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Members of a CNN team covering the war in Israel and Gaza were seen diving into a roadside ditch under the scream of rocket fire during a live broadcast. The video of the dramatic moment went viral on social media. A version of the footage containing manipulated audio was later shared with false claims that CNN producers and journalists had staged the entire broadcast. AFP Fact Check traced the altered video to a YouTube channel that frequently spreads disinformation. A CNN spokesperson also rejected the claim and dismissed the edited clip as a “distortion”.

A verified account on X (formerly Twitter) with more than 120,000 followers shared a clip on October 11, 2023, showing CNN’s chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward and her team scampering to safety as rockets zipped overhead near the Israel-Gaza border.

The post read: “CNN exposed for faking an attack in Israel.”

A screenshot of the false post, taken on October 11, 2023

On October 7, 2023, hundreds of Hamas fighters launched a surprise attack on Israel, a devastating assault that came 50 years and one day after the outbreak of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.

During the onslaught, Hamas militants killed 1,200 people in Israel, mostly civilians, and took about 150 hostages.

In the video, Ward and her team are forced to take cover during a rocket skirmish near the Gaza Strip. The camera keeps rolling as they shelter in a ditch next to the road, with a breathless Ward in focus and a man behind her talking on a mobile phone.

A voice purporting to be a producer back in the studio cuts in and appears to issue instructions as the action unfolds.

“…Now you can see the area is completely deserted, but I want you to get them off the road. Get them to lie down next to the road,” the accented voice says.

“Tell the cameraman to keep Clarissa in shot, okay… Look around Jerry, look around as if you are in danger. Try to look nice and scared … okay, that’s beautiful, that’s the money shot.”

The same claim was repeated on prominent disinformation accounts on X (see here and here) and Facebook (here, here, and here) in the United States.

Israel has since retaliated by raining air and artillery strikes on Hamas targets in Gaza for six days, claiming over 1,350 lives in the Palestinian enclave and wounding more than 6,000 Gazans.

Israel has levelled entire city blocks in Gaza and destroyed thousands of buildings, while Hamas has now fired more than 5,000 rockets at Israel, according to the army.

But the claim that CNN filmed a staged attack in Israel is false.

Altered audio

A closer look at the edited clip reveals a logo with the words “The Quartering” in the top-left corner as well as an “outro” inviting viewers to “Like, Share and Follow”.

A screenshot of the false post displaying “The Quartering” watermark

These two elements are not in the official CNN videos.

One clip posted on X by CNN shows the moment the in-studio news anchor John Berman crossed live to Ward, only to find her taking shelter in the ditch (archive here).

“Hi, John,” Ward begins. “So forgive me, I have a slightly inelegant position. But we have just had a massive barrage of rockets coming in here not too far from us. So we have had to take shelter here by the roadside.” She then continues with her report (archived here).

Another, slightly longer version uploaded to CNN’s website recaps the events with footage of the entire team hastening down a road before the sound of rockets landing nearby forces them to the ground (archived here).

In the original footage, there is no voiceover stage-managing the CNN team.

A search for “The Quartering” led to a YouTube channel with a similar name where a longer version of the manipulated video was published and has accumulated more than 180,000 views.

A screenshot of the manipulated video on 'The Quartering' YouTube channel, taken on October 12, 2023

The channel explores topics “in the gaming industry, comics, and the world at large,” according to the About section.

Further searches revealed The Quartering is run by YouTuber Jeremy Hambly, known for promoting right-wing views and conspiracies. He has amassed more than 1.5 million YouTube subscribers (see archived link).

In an email to AFP Fact Check, a CNN spokesperson dismissed Hambly’s video as “fabricated”.

“The audio in the video posted and shared on X is fabricated, inaccurate and irresponsibly distorts the reality of the moment that was covered live on CNN, which people should watch in full for themselves on a trusted platform,” a CNN spokesperson said.

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