Old video mischaracterized as showing Palestinians pretending to be dead

The Gaza Health Ministry has said the Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war is more than 8,000. But some social media posts are suggesting this number is inflated and are pointing to a video of supposed dead bodies moving as evidence. 

"Wake up world," text above the video reads. "They think you are fools! The masters of fake news welcome the Palestinians & their Hamas." 

"7000 my a--," said one Instagram post sharing the video and apparently referring to a previously reported Palestinian death toll. 

This post among others was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

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stated on September 18, 2024 in an X post

Photo shows a toilet after “some Hezbollah operative blew up.”

This video has been online for a decade. An Egypt-based news outlet posted it on YouTube in October 2013. A Google translation of the Arabic caption says that it shows students at Al-Azhar University in Cairo participating in a demonstration. 

"The students chanted slogans against the army and the police," the translated caption said. 

We rate claims that this video shows Palestinians pretending to be casualties of the current Israel-Hamas war False.