Fact Check: Video from Syria falsely shared as Russian attack on Ukraine
India Today
A video of an armed conflict has gone viral on social media with claims that it shows the Russian forces shelling Ukraine.
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, a video of an armed conflict has gone viral on social media with claims that it shows the Russian forces shelling Ukraine.
The India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) found that the video was from a clash between the Islamic State (IS) and forces in the Syrian city of Hasakah.
With the help of a reverse search of the keyframes of the video in question, we found the same video uploaded to the YouTube channel of YPG Press Office, the official army of Rojava-Northern Syria Federation. The video was uploaded on January 24, 2022. “Latest developments in Ghweran, al Hasakah,” reads the headline of the video.
The video was also uploaded on the same day on the YouTube channel of The Sun. According to the news outlet, the video captured a fight between the IS and Kurdish-led forces in the north-eastern Syrian city of Hasakah.
IS militants had attacked Gweiran Prison, where thousands of IS members have reportedly been held since the group’s defeat in Syria in 2019. This sparked days-long firing between IS and Kurdish forces in the region. As the fight intensified, a curfew was announced in Hasakah on January 23.
Several media outlets had also carried the same video on January 24 with claims it was from Syria. According to these reports, the footage was first released by the Kurdish-led YPG Press Office.
