2019 Mock Drill Video Shared as Saudi Defense Minister Panic Due To Fireworks…

A video shows an Arab dignitary surrounded by his guards approaching the entrance of a building when suddenly there is an attack on him and chaos ensues. This video is being shared widely on social media platforms with a claim that the person seen in the video is Saudi Arabia’s defense minister, who got scared when the fireworks arranged for his reception at the Chinese embassy burst. 

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The Twitter user in his tweet can be roughly translated as such: “This is Saudi Arabia’s defense minister. He was supposed to attend a function for Chinese New Year at the Chinese embassy. The minister was unaware that the Chinese officers had arranged fireworks for his welcome. Have fun watching what happened next.”

Another Twitter user shared the same video with the same narrative with a caption in English that read. You can view the tweet below.

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However, when we verified this video, we found that the narrative shared along with the video is false. Let us find out what is the truth.

Fact Check

We did a reverse image search of the screengrabs of the video and found the following video on YouTube. The caption of the YouTube video in Arabic can be roughly translated as such: “Video… Training of the Amiri Guard in the fairgrounds… This is how it is handled when characters are shot.”

From the translation of the video’s caption, we can understand that the video is a training activity of the Emiri Guards showing how to handle situations where VIPs are attacked. We used this clue to search further and found a 2019 fact check by Lebanese website Annahar. According to the website, the video is of a mock drill from the Gulf Defense and Aerospace held at International Fairground in Kuwait City. 

An Arabic channel called Al Hadath reported the event. You can see their tweet below in which they explain how Emiri guards conducted a mock drill to demonstrate the actions to be taken in case a VIP is attacked. The video tweeted by them is from a different angle and has more clarity than the viral video.

Conclusion

The video shared as Saudi defense minister getting scared by firecrackers arranged for his welcome by Chinese officials, is actually an old video of a mock drill. The video shows how Emiri guards protect VIPs in case of an attack. The video was shot during the Gulf Defense and Aerospace Exhibition in Kuwait in 2019.