Amidst Iran’s launch of 200 ballistic missiles (here and here) toward Israel, a video showing red flares spreading across the sky is being circulated on social media (here and here) claiming that it shows the visuals of Iran’s attack on Israel. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Live Visuals of Iran’s attack on Isreal in October 2024.
Fact: The original footage shows a fireworks display by local football fans celebrating after their team won the Algerian championship in 2020. The video is not related to Iran’s attack on Israel in October 2024. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
After conducting a reverse image search on the keyframes from the viral video, we discovered that the same video has been in circulation since 2023 (here and here). Under an X post, many users commented that the video originates from Algeria. Based on this information, we conducted additional searches and found similar visuals (here, here, and here) shared by Algerian sports accounts earlier, showcasing football fans celebrating in Algiers, Algeria.
We geolocated the roundabout visible in the viral video along with the surrounding buildings, matching them with satellite imagery of the area around Place Al Mokrani, Algeria.
Below is a comparison of a billboard on a building from the viral video and the corresponding location from Algiers on Google Maps.
Factly previously debunked the same video, when it went viral claiming that it showed Israel’s retaliation against Hamas.
To sum up, a 2020 video of a fireworks display in the Algerian capital of Algiers is being shared as the visuals of Iran’s attack on Israel.
