Footage shows Brazil fire, not Hezbollah attack on Israel

Published on October 11, 2024 at 06:57
4 min read
By AFP India, AFP Middle East & North Africa
Translation and adaptation Sachin BAGHEL

As fighting raged between Israel and Hezbollah, footage of a fire in Brazil was shared thousands of times in social media posts that falsely claimed it showed the conflict. The clip first circulated in news reports in August 2024 about a blaze that destroyed a warehouse in a town in Brazil's northern Para state.

"Israel after Hezbollah's attacks, Israel is burning," read a Hindi-language X post that shared the footage on September 24, 2024.

The video circulated online as conflict escalated between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah group despite a chorus of international calls for both sides to step back from the brink of all-out war (archived link).

Hezbollah said it targeted two more Israeli bases in retaliation for the deadliest strikes on the country's east and south in nearly a year of clashes (archived link).

Israel has been pounding Hezbollah in Lebanon since September 23 in an escalated campaign that has killed more than 1,200 people and displaced more than a million others, according to an AFP tally of health ministry figures.

Screenshot of the false post

The video was shared with similar claims elsewhere on X and Facebook. It was also shared in Arabic.

Hezbollah has traded almost daily cross-border fire with Israel since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel which triggered the war in the Gaza Strip.

The unprecedented attack resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures that include hostages killed in captivity (archived link).

Of the 251 hostages seized by militants, 97 are still held in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed more than 42,000 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to figures provided by the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.

However, the video shows a fire in a warehouse in Brazil.

Brazil fire

A Google reverse image search found a higher quality version of the footage posted on X by Brazilian news outlet Portal Roma News on August 11, 2024 (archived link).

"A large fire broke out in a warehouse behind a store on Dr Isaias Antunes Avenue, in Novo Progresso, near BR-163, this Saturday. The fire quickly spread, spilling oil onto the streets, reaching nearby stores and businesses," read the Portuguese-language post.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the clip shared in the false post (left) and the video posted by Portal Roma News (right):

Screenshot comparison of the clip shared in false post (left) and video posted on X (right)

In the video, a sign is visible for a restaurant called Churrascaria e Restaurante Polentao, which is located in Novo Progresso (archived link).

Below is a screenshot comparison of a photo of the restaurant on Tripadvisor (left) and the false post (right), with similarities highlighted by the AFP:

Screenshot comparison of the photo of the restaurant from Tripadvisor (left and the false post (right), with similarities highlighted by the AFP

Local media outlets Jornal Folha do Progresso and Roma News reported that a blaze at a warehouse on Dr Isaias Antunes Avenue engulfed nearby stores on August 10 (archived here and here).

AFP has fact-checked more misinformation about the conflict in the Middle East.

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