Does a video capture the British cargo ship Rubymar sinking after being targeted by Houthis? No, that's not true: The video shows the cargo bulk carrier Atlantic Confidence near the island of Masirah in Oman. It's from 2013, well predating the ongoing Houthi attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, which began after the outbreak of the Hamas-Israel conflict on…
Did the U.S. Congress declare war on Iran and its proxies in the Middle East and did the Pentagon dispatch 150,000 troops trained in street fighting to the United Arab Emirates in preparation to invade Iran? No, that's not true: There is no U.S. declaration of war against Iran and no evidence that US troops are gathering in the UAE…
Does a video on TikTok depict a Yemeni Unmanned Underwater Vessel (UUV) that was targeted by the U.S. Central Command in the Red Sea on February 17, 2024? No, that's not true: The video shows Combat XLUUV, an underwater vehicle produced by the South Korean company Hanwha Ocean, exhibited at the International Maritime Defense Industry Exhibition (Madex) held in Busan,…
Did Jordan extend an overland passage for Israeli imports coming from India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)? No, that's not true: Although there are scores of videos in Arabic claiming that Israel opted for an alternative route to naval freight in the Red Sea because of pro-Iranian Houthi rebel attacks that blocked international navigation, Jordanian Prime Minister Bishr al-Khasawneh…
Has Jorvan Vieira died? No, that's not true: The Brazilian football coach, who famously led Iraq to win its first Asia Cup during the Iraq War in 2007, denied on Instagram the rumor of his own death. Additionally, the Iraq Football Association has not sent condolences regarding his alleged death, as a video claimed on TikTok. The claim appeared in…
Did Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi launch a sea bridge for Israeli imports in February 2024 after Yemeni rebels obstructed navigation to Israel? No, that's not true: There are no news reports that Egypt has set up a sea link with Israel. Politically, creating a sea bridge with Israel is highly unlikely considering the tension between the Mideast neighbors after Israel…
Does a video on TikTok depict Gen. Mark A. Milley, then the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, announcing an investigation into the alleged murder of civilians in Iraq's Sunni areas purportedly committed by Shiite militias? No, that's not true: The Arabic-dubbed version of the video has altered audio, and the original video is unrelated. The clip is from a…
Did Egypt construct a buffer zone on its Gaza border as a precautionary measure to accommodate Palestinians in case an Israeli offensive into Rafah prompts an exodus across the frontier? No, that's not true: Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi has warned that a forced or voluntary Palestinian exodus is a "red line" and that his nation will not allow Palestinian refugees…
Does a video on social media depict a U.K. ship in the Red Sea sinking after being targeted by the Houthis? No, that's not true: The video is from 2020, preceding the onset of Houthi attacks on U.K. and U.S. vessels in the Red Sea during the Hamas-Israel conflict that started on October 7, 2023. The footage depicts the intentional…
Does a photo on social media depict an Israeli officer named Hera Binyafir who was recently killed after appearing in photos torturing elderly Palestinians? No, that's not true: The photo in the post is from 2010, and the Israeli woman in the photo is Eden Abergil, who completed her military service in 2009. The claim appeared in a video (archived…
Did the Egyptian army deploy to the Rafah border crossing in the Gaza Strip when Israel launched a military operation against the small town on the Egyptian border? No, that's not true: The footage of Egyptian soldiers at the Rafah border crossing, shown in a video used to support online claims that war is about to break out between Egypt…
Does a photo on social media show an Emirati medical delegation arriving in Israel to provide psychological support for Israeli soldiers returning from Gaza? No, that's not true: The photo dates back to June 2021, predating the Hamas-Israel conflict that began on October 7, 2023. It captures a delegation from the Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt and Morocco meeting with both Arab…
Does the Asian Football Confederation plan a Jordan-Iraq rematch after suspending Iranian-Australian referee Alireza Faghani, who is accused of bias against Iraq that led to its 3-2 defeat to Jordan in the Asian Cup quarter finals on January 29, 2024? No, that's not true: Neither the Confederation nor the Jordan Football Association said there is a rematch. In fact, Jordan…
Does a video circulating on social media show Texas secessionists demonstrating for Palestine in their trucks? No, that's not true. There are no Texas secessionists in the video. Instead, it shows Palestinian American truckers in the southwest suburbs of Chicago forming a Christmas caravan with Palestinian flags, in December 2023, aiming to draw attention to those who have lost their…
Does a video on TikTok depict the U.S.-led coalition escaping from the Red Sea due to fears of Houthi attacks? No, that's not true: The video dates back to 2012, predating the commencement of Houthi attacks on U.S. vessels in the Red Sea amid the Hamas-Israel conflict that began on October 7, 2023. The footage shows the USS Dewey, a…
Did a video on social media show Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir collapse upon learning the news of his wife's death? No, that's not true: These videos are old and taken out of context. The claim appeared in multiple posts like this one (no longer available but archived here) on TikTok on January 13, 2024, which has…
Did the Korean tanker New Bright catch fire in the Red Sea after being attacked near Yemen in January 2024? No, that's not true: The ship caught fire as it sailed downstream in the Yangtze River, near Shanghai in East China en route to Incheon, South Korea, on December 21, 2023. The cause of the blaze was not disclosed. The…
Did Yemen's Houthi rebels open a luxury restaurant on a ship they seized in the Red Sea? No, that's not true: A video on social media consists of a montage of different clips featuring the Queen Elizabeth 2 docked in Dubai. The claim appeared in a video on TikTok by jehangir.chohan, on December 27, 2023, with the caption (translated from…
Does this photo show a German general named Hafri Keer, killed in Gaza during the Hamas-Israel conflict that started on October 7, 2023? No, that's not true: The man in the photograph is Gen. Carsten Breuer, Germany's chief of defense. There is no substantiated evidence to suggest that he has visited Gaza during the Hamas-Israel conflict or been involved in…
Did the Swedish presidential palace burn in revenge for the Quran burnings in Sweden? No, that's not true: The footage in the video on social media making the claim is from a fire in Manila's historic post office building in May 2023. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok by yahasrahh on July 1, 2023, with a…
