Viral videos, sometimes shared with misleading narrations, get a lot of eyeballs on social media. Let’s look at one such video.
Social Media Posts
A video shows an Arab dignitary surrounded by his guards approaching the entrance of a building when suddenly bursting sounds are heard in the background, and chaos ensues.
This video is being shared widely on social media platforms, with the claim that the person seen in it is Saudi Arabia’s defence minister, who got scared when the fireworks arranged for his reception at the Chinese embassy burst.
These claims were viral among WhatsApp users as well.
We decided to do a fact-check on this.
Fact Check
We did a reverse image search of the screengrabs of the video and found the following video on YouTube. The caption of the YouTube video in Arabic can be roughly translated as “Video… Training of the Amiri Guard in the fairgrounds… This is how it is handled when characters are shot.”
The translation of the video’s caption suggests that it is a training activity for the Emiri Guards, showing how to handle situations where VIPs are attacked.
We used this clue to search further and found a 2019 fact check by the Lebanese website Annahar. According to the website, the video is of a mock drill from the Gulf Defense and Aerospace held at the International Fairground in Kuwait City.
An Arabic channel called Al Hadath reported the event. You can see their tweet below, in which they explain how Emiri guards conducted a mock drill to demonstrate the actions to be taken in case a VIP is attacked. The video they tweeted is from a different angle and is clearer than the viral video.
Follow us and stay up to date with our latest fact checks.
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Google News | TikTok
Conclusion
The viral video, which implies scenes of the Saudi defence minister getting scared by firecrackers arranged by Chinese officials for his welcome, is actually an old video of a mock drill. The staged video shows how Emiri guards protect VIPs in case of an attack. The video was shot during the Gulf Defense and Aerospace Exhibition in Kuwait in 2019.
Title:2019 Mock Drill Video Viral as Saudi Defense Minister Panic Due To Fireworks!
Fact Check By: Fact Crescendo TeamResult: Misleading
