This is a video of Algerian football fans, not a rally in Washington for the Pakistani prime minister
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on August 22, 2019 at 09:00
- 3 min read
- By AFP Pakistan
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This 28-second video, posted to Facebook on July 21, 2019 and shared more than 27,000 times, shows a packed stadium full of excited people.
The caption says in part: “What a Crowd in USA....! just for see to Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan.”
Below is a screenshot of the misleading Facebook post:
The same video has been shared in this Facebook post with an Urdu caption. Translated, it reads: “Imran Khan has not yet reached the rally spot and this is the state of rally spot in America. May Allah keep Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan safe. Amen.”
The same video was shared on Twitter here with the caption: “USA right now @ImranKhanPTI #PMIKInUSA.”
Here is the screenshot of the misleading tweet:
The tweet was liked by more than 9,500 people and retweeted by more than 2,400 users.
This post from the official Facebook page of Khan’s Pakistan Tehrek-e-Insaf (PTI) political party shows that Khan did speak in Washington on July 21, 2019.
But Khan’s rally was held at Washington’s Capital One Arena, according to the PTI Facebook page. The arena is an indoor facility, while the stadium shown in the misleading Facebook posts and Twitter videos is an open air facility.
Here is a comparison of screenshots from Khan’s Washington speech (L) and the misleading tweet (R):
The video has circulated online prior to Khan’s speech.
It was posted here on Twitter on July 20, 2019, by a verified account called @GMS__Football with a caption describing it as footage from a stadium in Algeria, where football fans were watching a broadcast of the Africa Cup of Nations final.
That match was played between Algeria and Senegal in Cairo July 19, as reported by AFP here.
The tweet’s caption reads: “This is how Algerian fans celebrated their African Cup of Nations win last night. The final was played in Cairo, Egypt. This stadium is in Algiers, Algeria. Incredible.
This is how Algerian fans celebrated their African Cup of Nations win last night ?
— GiveMeSport Football (@GMS__Football) July 20, 2019
The final was played in Cairo, Egypt.
This stadium is in Algiers, Algeria.
Incredible ?#Algeria #AFCON2019final #AFCON2019 pic.twitter.com/i62IjmeWQH
The video was originally published on Twitter by Maher Mezahi with an accompanying caption that said it was shot at Stade 5 Juillet in Algiers.
Mezhai is an Algerian journalist covering football in North Africa, according to his profile.
This is how Algerian supporters watched the match at Stade 5 Juillet today. pic.twitter.com/rGWJPq5fIg
— Maher Mezahi (@MezahiMaher) July 20, 2019
Mezahi told AFP via direct message that the video was shot by his friend.
A YouTube video by Ruptly gives another view of the stadium during the Africa Cup final. Details from the stadium in that video match the footage published by Mezahi.
Here are comparison screenshots of the Ruptly video (L) and the video tweeted by Mezahi (R):
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