Fact Check: Red sky over Israel after Iranian airstrikes? No, viral videos are old
Two videos circulating online claim to show a red sky over Israel after Iranian missile attacks.
By - Rahul Adhikari
Claim:The videos show Iranian missile attacks on Israel.
Fact:False. The videos are old and show Algerian football fans celebrating with firecrackers, lighting up the city in red.
Hyderabad: According to recent reports, Iranian missiles have hit central parts of Israel, including the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, and have also targeted the US-allied locations in the Middle East.
Two videos circulating on social media claim to show Iranian missile attacks on Israel.
Both the viral videos look similar. A city can be seen illuminated in red lights and small firecracker-like objects, allegedly missiles, are seen lighting up the sky in red.
One user shared the first clip on Instagram and a text on the video read, “Iran Launches Deadly Missile Strike on Israel: Escalating Tensions in the Middle East.” (Archive)
The second video was also shared on Instagram, carrying the text, “Israel has been attacked with a missile of a magnitude the world has never seen before.” (Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claims are false. The videos actually show Algerian football fans celebrating with fireworks and are unrelated to the ongoing conflict.
Analysis of the first video
The first video has two clips - one shows a street with cars, where police officers and the second part shows a relatively less busy road.
We conducted a reverse image search and found that the first part was published on a YouTube channel named Abd Ellah ChiNwi on August 9, 2024. The title of the video suggests that it shows Mouloudia Club d’Alger, an Algerian football club also known as MC Alger, celebrating its 103rd year anniversary.
The second part of the video was found in a YouTube video published on August 24, 2024. It was uploaded by a channel named GeoMundo and included the first part of the viral video. The description stated that it shows a pyro show arranged by MC Alger fans to mark the club’s 103rd anniversary.
According to a report by TSA Algérie published on August 8, 2024, fans of MC Alger celebrated the club’s 103rd anniversary on August 7 with fireworks and flares across Algiers. During the celebrations, a fire broke out at a botanical garden, reportedly caused by fireworks set off by supporters.
The video in question appeared well before the current conflict broke out between Iran, the US and Israel. This old video was falsely linked to the current geopolitical conflict.
Analysis of the second video
We conducted a reverse image search on the keyframes of the viral video and it didn’t yield any results.
However, on further research, we found that the same video had appeared on social media in 2023 with the claim that it showed the airstrike in Gaza. Several users in the comment section pointed out that it showed celebrations in Algeria after a football match.
One user stated that this video is from Algeria after Belouizdad won the soccer championship.
CR Belouizdad won the Algerian Ligue 1 championship in the 2019–20 season. We found a video of fans celebrating the victory, lighting up the city in red with firecrackers, which resembles the viral clip.
We could not independently verify when the video was captured. However, the evidence indicates that it appeared years before the current conflict and shows a celebration in Algeria.
Therefore, the claims are false.
