Crowd filmed applauding Palestinian photojournalist, not 'celebrating attack on Israeli football fans'
- Published on November 15, 2024 at 09:23
- Updated on November 15, 2024 at 09:52
- 3 min read
- By Devesh MISHRA, AFP India
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"The Dutch celebrate after teaching the Israelis a lesson they will never forget. Humanity must win. Beautiful solidarity" read the caption alongside the video shared on X on November 9, 2024.
The footage circulated online following instances of violence reported after a Europa League football match between Dutch team Ajax and Israel's Maccabi Tel Aviv, which the hosts won 5-0.
The violence added to the growing list of anti-Semitic and Islamophobic attacks across Europe fuelled by the ongoing Middle East conflict.
The 22-second video shows people clapping and waving a Palestinian flag inside a hall. Some can be heard chanting "Free, free Palestine".
The video was shared with a similar false claim elsewhere on Facebook and X.
AFP reported Amsterdam police made dozens of arrests during what the city's mayor called an "unbearable" night of violence as fans of Israeli football club Maccabi Tel Aviv suffered "hit-and-run" attacks that left five people in hospital (archived link).
The Israeli fans had already had minor scuffles on November 6, one day before the match.
The violence on November 7 started after fans had left the stadium, with what mayor Femke Halsema described as "gangs of guys on scooters" carrying out "hit-and-run" attacks on fans of the Israeli club.
But the video predates the incident by several months.
Press freedom event
A reverse image search on Google found the original video shared on the Instagram account of Palestinian photojournalist Motaz Azaiza on May 25, 2024 (archived link).
The post's caption read, "Thanks for everyone who attended the worldpressphoto event today. Thank you for being the power I use to continue."
Azaiza was one of the three photographers invited to a panel discussion on "Press Freedom: Navigating a Changing Media Landscape" organised by the World Press Photo Foundation, an independent, non-profit organisation based in Amsterdam on May 25, 2024 (archived link).
Below is a screenshot comparison of the clip shared in false posts (left) and the Instagram video uploaded on Azaiza's Instagram account (right):
The event was held in the central hall of De Nieuwe Kerk, a church-turned-museum in Amsterdam (archived link).
A spokesperson for De Nieuwe Kerk confirmed to AFP that the video shows the crowd's reaction after Azaiza's talk.
"This video was made after the end of his keynote about press freedom and his personal experience in Gaza. The audience gave him an applause afterwards. That is what you see in the video," she told AFP in an email on November 14.
The visuals in the clip shared in false posts correspond to photos of De Nieuwe Kerk on Google Maps (archived link).
Below is a screenshot comparison of the false post video (left) and the Google Maps image (right) with similarities highlighted by AFP:
AFP has debunked other misinformation around the Middle East conflict here.
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