Old & Unrelated images are passed off as those of recent Drone attack on Abu Dhabi - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 18, 2022
In light of the recent attack on Abu Dhabi airport by the Houthi rebels using drones and missiles, a few social media posts (here, here, & here) with images claiming to be from the recent attack on Abu Dhabi are being shared widely. Through this article, let’s fact-check the veracity of these images.
Claim: Images from the recent air strike near Abu Dhabi airport.
Fact: These images have nothing to do with the recent air strikes on Abu Dhabi and are related to different incidents which have occurred in the past. While one image is related to crash landing of an aircraft in Dubai in 2016, another image is related to a drone attack in middle east, back in 2019. Another image has been used as a representational image for bomb blasts over the years. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
Image 1:
This image actually shows an incident of crash landing of an Emirates flight at the airport in Dubai back in 2016. Reverse image search of the photo in the viral post yielded multiple news article which published the same image.
Description accompanying the image in one such news report reads ‘An Emirates airline flight from Thiruvananthapuram crash-landed at the airport in Dubai. All 282 passengers and 18 crew members were safely evacuated.’
News articles which have reported the same visuals back then can be read here, & here.
Image 2:
This image is related to drone attack in middle east which happened back in 2019. Reverse image search of the photo in the viral post yielded multiple news article which published the same image.
As per one such article, the image is related a drone attack carried out by Iran-backed Iraqi paramilitary popular mobilisation forces near Iraq border with Syria.
Few other 2019 news articles  which reported the same image attributing it to drone attack in Middle east can be read here & here.
Image 3:
Over the years, this image has been used as a representational image in various news articles related to blasts in different parts of the world. Reverse image search of the photo yielded multiple news articles which have published the same image.
For many years,  the same image as been used for representational purpose in news items related to bomb blasts and fire break outs in different countries. These articles can be seen here, here, here & here. Although we could not find the original source of the image, the presence of the image on the internet for many years confirms the fact that the image is not related to the recent air strike in Abu Dhabi.
To sum it up, old & unrelated images are passed off as from recent airstikes on Abu Dhabi