Old video shows boy crying on first day of school in Los Angeles, not 'Palestinian child brought to tears'

"This Palestinian kid crying when asked about his mother," reads Indonesian-language text overlaid on a TikTok video uploaded on October 11, 2023.

The 34-second video, which has been viewed more than 1.6 million times, appears to show a boy being interviewed.

He is asked in English: "Are you going to miss your mom?"

The boy smiles and quickly replies "No", but when the person asking the question follows up with "No?", he starts to cry while covering his face with his hands.

The caption of the TikTok video reads: "Masya Allah [dear God], the victim of Israel. LAKNATULLAH."

"Laknatullah" comes from Arabic words "Laknat" and "Allah", which means "cursed by God". It is a term often used to condemn perceived oppressors and attackers of the Muslim community.

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Screenshot of the false post, captured on December 4, 2023

The clip circulated days after Israel declared war on Hamas, after the militant group's October 7 attacks that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and which saw around 240 hostages taken, according to Israeli authorities.

In retaliation for the worst attack in its history, Israel vowed to eradicate Hamas and secure the release of all the hostages held in Gaza.

The Hamas government in Gaza says the war has killed more than 16,200 people in the territory, most of them women and children.

The video was also viewed more than 20,000 times in similar posts shared on TikTok, SnackVideo and YouTube.

Comments on the posts suggest many users believed the clip was related to the current conflict between Israel and Hamas.

One TikTok user said: "Oh God, protect my brothers and sisters in Palestine... ameen."

"The children do not know anything, they are innocent, you eliminate their family, not just for a moment but forever, where is your heart ISRAEL!" wrote another user.

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Screenshot of social media users' comments

The clip, however, was filmed eight years before the current conflict.

'Back to school' interview

Reverse image and keyword searches on Google led to a video uploaded on August 18, 2015 to the official Facebook page of KTLA, a TV station in Los Angeles (archived link).

KTLA's logo can be seen on the microphone used by the reporter during the interview.

"The first day of school brought mixed emotions for many students, including 4-year-old Andrew Macias, who spoke to us on his way to pre-kindergarten on Tuesday," reads part of the video's caption, adding that it was filmed outside a school in East Los Angeles.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the video in the false post (left) and the genuine 2015 video from KTLA (right):

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Screenshot comparison of the video in the false post (left) and the genuine 2015 video from KTLA (right)

A report on KTLA's website adds, "Seconds later, Andrew's mom gave him a hug off camera" (archived link).

Neither the KTLA Facebook post nor the article on its website makes mention of the boy being Palestinian.

The video, which has since been viewed at least 19 million times, was also reported on by other media at the time, including CBS News and UK-based newspaper The Independent (archived links here and here).

The video resurfaced in September 2023, when Macias and reporter Courtney Friel reunited to re-enact the interaction as part of a promo for a new film (archived link).

Friel also posted the video on her official Instagram account on September 24, 2023 (archived link).

The latest KTLA article and Friel's Instagram post also make no mention of the current conflict between Israel and Hamas.

AFP has debunked other misinformation about the Israel-Hamas war here.