Videos of panic and flooding filmed in other countries, not 'Israel in October 2023'

The video was shared on TikTok here on October 23, 2023, and has since been viewed more than 20 million times.

It comprises several short clips, beginning with one appearing to show people running in panic. The one-minute three-second video then shows clips of what appear to be floodwaters sweeping away cars and knocking over a bridge.

Text on the video claims these clips were all filmed in Israel on "22 October 2023".

Indonesian-language text also superimposed on the video reads: "The power of God. God's punishment is real."

Image

Screenshot of the false post, captured on November 1, 2023

Fighting has raged since gunmen from the Islamist group Hamas poured over the Gaza border with Israel and, according to the latest official Israeli figures, killed about 1,200 people and seized 239 hostages in the worst attack in the country's history.

Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel retaliated with an aerial bombing and ground offensive that has killed more than 11,200 people, many of them children, according to Gaza's Hamas government on November 13, 2023.

The same video was also shared alongside a similar false claim elsewhere on TikTok here, here and here, and on social media app Snack Video here, racking up more than 146,000 views.

But clips featured in the video are unrelated to the Israel-Hamas war and actually show scenes from France, Turkey and India.

'Panic in La Defense'

The first clip used in the false video was filmed in a district in the French capital Paris in February 2023.

A keyword search on TikTok found the same clip posted here on February 18, 2023, with a French-language caption that reads, "Live mass panic in La Defense", a business district in Paris (archived links here and here).

AFP reported that people at the district's Westfield les Quatre Temps shopping mall thought a loud noise was an explosion, prompting the panicked scenes (archived link).

The clip posted in February 2023 has been flipped horizontally in the false post.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the clip used in the false video (left) and the clip posted in February 2023 (right), with people who appear in both clips highlighted by AFP:

Image

Screenshot comparison of the clip used in the false video (left) and the clip posted in February 2023 (right)

A panoramic image created by stitching together stills from the falsely shared clip matches images of the location seen on Google Earth here (archived link).

Below is a comparison of the footage from the false post (top) and the area as seen on Google Earth (bottom):

Image

Comparison of the footage from the false post (top) and the area as seen on Google Earth (bottom)

Flooding clips

The rest of the clips in the false video appear to show damage caused by flooding, and they are all the mirror image of the genuine footage.

The clip of a white car being swept away in a flood, seen at the 39-second mark, was in fact filmed in Turkey in March 2023.

A keyword search on TikTok found the same video posted here on March 15, 2023 (archived link).

Below is a screenshot comparison of the clip used in the false post (left) and clip shared in March 2023 (right):

Image

Screenshot comparison of the clip used in the false post (left) and clip shared in March 2023 (right)

A combination of reverse image and keyword searches on Google led to a video of the same flooded location -- Sanliurfa in Turkey -- that was published by Russian media outlet Sputnik on March 16, 2023 (archived link).

Torrential rains caused deadly flash floods in Sanliurfa, near Turkey's border with Syria, AFP reported at the time.

The location of the clip matches Google Maps imagery here of a street corner in Sanliurfa (archived link).

Below is a screenshot comparison between the clip in the false video (left) and the image from Google Maps (right), with the corresponding structures highlighted by AFP:

Image

Screenshot comparison between the clip in the false video (left) and the image from Google Maps (right)

A reverse image on Google using keyframes from the clip of a bridge appearing to collapse, shown at the 44-second mark of the false video, shows it was in fact filmed in India in July 2023.

The footage was previously posted on YouTube in a Hindi-language post about a bridge that connected Indian towns of Baddi and Pinjore on July 10, 2023 (archived link).

Below is a screenshot comparison between the clip used in the false video (left) and the video from July 2023 (right):

Image

Screenshot comparison between the clip used in the false video (left) and the video from July 2023 (right)

A shorter video was also posted by Indian news outlet K9 Media on YouTube on the same day (archived link).

The title written in Hindi reads: "Kiratpur bridge on Baddi-Pinjore highway in Kalka broke due to flow of water."

Hindi-language text visible on the second pillar of the bridge reads "Post Office, Baddi".

Indian newspaper The Tribune also published a report about flooding in the area in July 2023 (archived link).

AFP was unable to track down the origin of the two other clips in the false video -- one appearing to show a whirlpool in muddy water and another showing cars being swept away by raging torrents.

However, there was no report of severe flooding in Israel on October 22, 2023, on the website of the Israel Meteorological Service. Data published by the agency here indicate there was no rainfall in Israel on the said date (archived link).