Edited video of 'bird Koran recital' fools Facebook users

Published on April 26, 2024 at 09:39
4 min read
By Qadaruddin SHISHIR, AFP Bangladesh

Facebook users in Bangladesh appeared to be fooled by an edited video shared in posts claiming it showed a bird reciting the Koran. The clip was shared tens of thousands of times as Bangladesh observed the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. However, the original video, which showed birdwatchers in China gathered to catch a glimpse of a fire-breasted flowerpecker bird, showed no such phenomenon.

"Hundreds of journalists gathered to take pictures and videos of a bird reciting the Koran in a sweet voice. God bless," reads a Bengali-language Facebook post shared on March 25, 2024.

The video, which garnered more than 57,000 views, shows a flock of photographers gathered in front of a stand of trees, where a bird appears to be singing on a branch.

Screenshot of the false post, taken April 24, 2024

The video attracted hundreds more views in similar Facebook posts here and here as Bangladesh observed the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, where Muslims fast from dawn until dusk.

While some Facebook users pointed out the footage was edited, many appeared to believe it was real -- commenting "Praise be to Allah" and "Glory to Allah".

Bird watchers in China

A reverse image search found the original version of the video, which does not show a bird singing.

The clip was shared on Weibo by a state-run media outlet iShaanxi via its video-sharing account, Bailu Video, on November 21, 2022 (archived link).

Below are screenshot comparisons of the edited video (left) and the original footage (right):

Screenshot comparisons of the edited video (left) and the original footage (right)

According to Bailu Video's post, the video was filmed in Chengdu, the capital of China's southwestern Sichuan province.

"November 11, Sichuan, Chengdu. Elderly uncles and aunties gather in a park to photograph a bird," the simplified Chinese caption said.

"A passerby Mr. Li said the photographers hung a speaker on the trees to play bird calls to attract it, and were rewarded around noon, all the uncles and aunties quietly turned around in sync to photograph the bird."

The video included two images of a bird with a yellow chest with captions stating it was the species being photographed in the park.

Further keyword searches on TikTok sister app Douyin found a similar video uploaded on November 17, 2022, which identified the bird as a fire-breasted flowerpecker (archived links here and here).

The simplified Chinese caption added the scene was filmed in Chengdu's Huanhuaxi Park.

AFP confirmed the video was filmed in Huanhuaxi Park by comparing the video to a photo of the park on Google Maps.

Screenshot of the video shared in false posts (left) and a photo of Huanhuaxi Park in Chengdu posted on Google Maps (right)

YouTube videos of the park here and here also resemble the scene in the video.

(Qadaruddin SHISHIR)

Keyword searches on Douyin for "fire-breasted flowerpecker" and "Huanhuaxi Park" found similar videos from November 2022 showing crowds gathered to catch a glimpse of the bird (archived link).

One video shows a close-up of the bird in the park (archived link).

The screenshots below show other Douyin videos of the birders and the fire-breasted flowerpecker in the Huanhuaxi park:

Douyin videos of the birders and the fire-breasted flowerpecker in the Huanhuaxi park

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