Wildfire clips falsely linked to Israel-Hamas war
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on November 21, 2023 at 09:15
- Updated on November 21, 2023 at 11:54
- 5 min read
- By Ara Eugenio, AFP Philippines, AFP Middle East & North Africa
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"Hair-Raising. Israel vs Palestine War Update 2023," read text superimposed on this video posted to TikTok on October 13, 2023.
The video -- which features five different clips of raging fires -- had racked up more than two million views before it was deleted.
In Gaza, more than 13,000 people have been killed in the war, officials in the Hamas-run territory said.
About 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in Israel during the October 7 attack and around 240 taken hostage, according to Israeli officials.
The video also circulated alongside a similar claim on Facebook, as well as TikTok here, here and here.
Posts in Arabic shared two clips of the compilation, also linking them to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
But the clips featured in the video have all appeared in news reports about wildfires in Argentina's central province of Cordoba.
AFP reported the fires, which began on October 9, have affected several localities including Villa Carlos Paz, Cabalango and Tala Huasi in the Punilla region.
The fires have been exacerbated by challenging weather conditions, with temperatures soaring to around 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) and strong north winds gusting up to 70 kilometers per hour.
Argentina wildfires
A reverse image search on Google found the first clip -- which shows people standing by their cars on a green highway bridge in front of a bright orange sky illuminated by the fire -- appeared in an article published by Argentine newspaper La Voz del Interior on October 10, 2023 (archived link).
The same eight-second footage was also published by Argentine news site Infobae the next day in a report about the evacuation order for Cabalango residents (archived link).
Andy Ferreyra, a journalist at local media Perfil Cordoba, reposted a clip on X, formerly Twitter, on October 10, which shows fires near the same green bridge (archived links here and here). In the post, he wrote: "The fire in Cabalango, at this time".
Below is a screenshot comparison of the clip in the false post (left) and the video from La Voz (right):
The second clip -- which shows a thick smoke billowing from a massive blaze raging on the horizon -- was shared by Meteorologia Argentina y Mundial, a Facebook page specialising in weather conditions in Argentina, on October 10, 2023 (archived links here and here).
According to its caption, it was filmed in Villa Carlos Paz.
The 22-second clip was also shared by Radio Online Parana, an Argentine radio station, in an Instagram post about the wildfires in Villa Carlos Paz (archived link).
'Close to city'
The third clip in the false video shows large flames raging behind a two-storey house. It was published in a report about the wildfires in Cordoba by Argentine digital outlet MinutoUno on October 11, 2023 (archived link).
It also appeared in a report about the wildfire in Villa Carlos Paz, uploaded by Mexican media outlet ADN 40 on October 10 (archived link).
The fourth clip is a drone shot of a wall of fire raging on the horizon behind a city. It was previously published by video-licensing agency Storyful on October 11, 2023 (archived link).
"This drone footage shows just how close [the wildfire] got to the city of Villa Carlos Paz. Footage recorded by Federico Krypner shows the fire on the horizon near Villa Carlos Paz," the Storyful report reads.
Krypner, a photographer and videographer, posted the footage on his Instagram page here (archived link).
The location of the clip matches Google Maps imagery here of a street corner in Villa Carlos Paz, showing the same low-rise building painted in mauve (archived link).
The last clip -- where the camera pans to show the extent of the fires behind some buildings -- can also be traced to the Facebook post of Meteorologia Argentina y Mundial, dated October 10, 2023 (archived link).
"More material shared with us from Villa Carlos Paz, Cordoba," the caption says.
Marina Fernandez, a meteorologist at local news broadcaster Todo Noticias and weather channel Meteored, posted the video on her Instagram account, combining it with Krypner's clip (archived link).
Fernandez said both clips were taken in Villa Carlos Paz.
Philippine fact-checking organisation Vera Files has also debunked false claims surrounding these clips.
AFP has debunked a wave of misinformation related to the Israel-Hamas war.
November 21, 2023 Updated title and summary to clarify the clips have been published by multiple media outlets in Argentina
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