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Missiles launched from Iran towards Israel are seen in the West Bank city of Nablus on Oct. 1, 2024. (AP)
Video shows pyrotechnic skydivers in United Arab Emirates, not Iran’s missile strike on Israel
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The Instagram video does not show Israel on Oct. 1. We found the video posted on Facebook Jan. 4, 2023, showing footage from the Dubai Marina in the United Arab Emirates.
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Dubai’s government media office said December 2022 that mysterious lights in Dubai’s skies were caused by skydivers with pyrotechnics setting a Guinness World Record for highest-altitude skydiving firework display.
Does this video of glowing objects over a city skyline show Iran’s ballistic missile strike against Israeli military targets? No, it shows skydivers in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, working to break a Guinness World Record.
The Oct. 1 Instagram video included a graphic of an Israeli flag and what sounds like an air raid siren. Some of the post’s comments said the video showed Iran’s missile attack against Israel. "GO IRAN," one commenter said.
Screenshot from Instagram
The post 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, Instagram and Threads.)
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But the video has nothing to do with the nearly 200 missiles Iran fired toward Israel on Oct. 1 in response to Israel killing top Hezbollah and Hamas officials in Lebanon and Iran.
We found the video shared on Facebook Jan. 4, 2023. The Facebook video says it shows partygoers on a yacht in Dubai seeing unidentified lights around Dubai Marina.
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We geolocated the video and confirmed it shows Dubai Marina, an area on the Persian Gulf in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Dubia’s government media office posted a video Dec. 22, 2022, on X saying the mysterious lights in Dubai’s night skies were skydivers who had spent the past few weeks working with pyrotechnics to set a Guinness World Record for highest altitude skydiving firework display. The lights in the media office’s video resemble those in the Instagram post.
Guinness World Records said Skydive Dubai, in association with DAMAC Properties, a Dubai-based real estate developer, on Dec. 6, 2022, broke the record for highest-altitude skydiving fireworks display at 5,130 meters, or about 16,830 feet.
We rate the claim that a video shows an Iranian missile strike on Israel False.
Our Sources
Instagram post (archived), Oct. 1, 2024
The Washington Post, Iran launched nearly 200 missiles at Israel, U.S. says, Oct. 1, 2024
Al Jazeera, Hezbollah, Hamas and Iranian figures whose killings were blamed on Israel, Sept. 28, 2024
Facebook video, Flying UFO in Dubai sky, Jan. 4, 2023
Google Maps, Dubai Marina, accessed Oct. 4, 2024
Condé Nast Traveller, Dubai neighborhood guide: where to eat, stay and play in Dubai Marina, Jan. 17, 2024
X post, Dec. 22, 2022
Guinness World Records, Highest altitude skydiving firework display, Dec. 15, 2022
YouTube, Iran says the attacks on Israel are partly due to assassinations of Hamas, Hezbollah leaders, Oct. 1, 2024
The Associated Press, Hezbollah confirms its leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike?, Sept. 28, 2024
The New York Times, Bomb Smuggled Into Tehran Guesthouse Months Ago Killed Hamas Leader, Aug. 1, 2024
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Video shows pyrotechnic skydivers in United Arab Emirates, not Iran’s missile strike on Israel
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