Footage of Nigerian fishing festival falsely linked to Sudan crisis

"Sudanese people run into the water to survive the genocide," reads the Thai-language text on a Facebook reel published on November 7, 2025.

The 18-second video -- which shows a large crowd dashing into a river with many holding white nets -- has been shared over 2,500 times.

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Screenshot of the false Facebook post, taken November 17, 2025, with a red X added by AFP

Since its outbreak in April 2023, the war between Sudan's army and RSF has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced nearly 12 million (archived link). 

At the end of October, the paramilitary group seized control of El-Fasher, the conclusion of a bitter 18-month siege for the strategic hub in western Sudan's Darfur region and marked by reports of mass killings and sexual violence.  

Similar claims have also been shared in online posts in Thai, English and Filipino.

Comments indicate some users believe the claim.

"Why are humans so cruel? Thailand is the best," one Facebook user wrote.

"I pray this does not happen ever in Thailand," another user wrote.

But the video does not depict Sudanese people running for their lives.

Nigeria's fishing festival 

A reverse image search of the video using keyframes led to an identical clip published by the official X account of Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation on March 14, 2020 (archived link).

The caption reads: "The fishermen have arrived in their thousands! After 11 years, the Grand Finale of the Argungu International Fishing and Cultural Festival is live! #ArgunguFishingFestival2020."

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Screenshot comparison between the false Facebook post (L) and the X post in March 2020

The festival's banner "Winner AIFCF 2020" can be seen at the 0:15 mark. 

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Screenshot of the video posted on the X post, with a red rectangle made by AFP to highlight the banner

The Argungu International Fishing and Cultural Festival --  inscribed by UNESCO in 2016 on its list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity -- is an annual four-day event held between February and March in Nigeria's Kebbi State (archived link). It features hand fishing, canoe racing, wrestling, musical performances and more.

AFP reported the 2020 event marked the first time in over a decade the festival was held again, after it was suspended due to security issues in northern Nigeria (archived link). The country's president at that time, Muhammadu Buhari described the festival's return as a symbol of improved national security and an effort to promote cultural unity (archived link).

AFP took photos and videos of the same event (archived link).

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Fishermen try to catch fishes at the Argungu fishing and cultural festival at Argungu Town, Kebbi State in northwest Nigeria, on March 14, 2020 (AFP / PIUS UTOMI EKPEI)

AFP previously debunked misinformation related to the Sudan crisis.