Is Saddam Hussein, the former President of Iraq, alive? No, that's not true: The video used in the post is from a February 2, 2003 interview and it shows the Iraqi leader speaking to British politician Tony Benn before the U.S.-led invasion that toppled his government. The late Iraqi leader was hanged to death on December 30, 2006, following his conviction by an Iraqi court.
The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published on TikTok by @chioua_anouar on December 11, 2023, with a caption translated from Arabic into English by Lead Stories staff that reads:
Urgent Saddam Hussein is alive
The video includes a digitally manipulated audio track translated into English that says:
Everyone thinks that I was martyred but it's all a lie, after many years, it's time that you know the truth
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Fri Dec 22 16:01:59 2023 UTC)
The post shows video from a February 2, 2003, interview with British politician Tony Benn at Hussein's palace in Baghdad. Multiple television channels aired the interview including U.S. non-profit cable channel C-SPAN, as seen here (archived here). 
(Source: C-SPAN screenshot taken on Fri Dec 22 16:10:59 2023 UTC)
A timeline of events (archived here) shows the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq started on March 20, 2003, shortly after the interview was conducted and the Iraqi leader was eventually captured on December 14 of that year.
On November 5, 2006, Hussein was sentenced to death by hanging after being convicted of crimes against humanity by the Iraqi Special Tribunal in connection with the killing of 148 Shiite Muslims in the town of Dujail in 1982. He was executed on December 30, 2006, with a video recording of the execution leaked to the media showing him being taunted by some of the witnesses present moments before he was hanged.
Over the years, there have been similar claims regarding Saddam Hussein. Lead Stories has debunked some examples seen here and here.
