Old Video From Russia Ukraine War Going Viral Linking It To Israel.
A video of a missile malfunction went viral on social media claiming it be an attack on Israel. Sharing the video on social media users are claiming that the video shows a missile coming back and exploding at the launch site moments after the launch. Sharing the video on Facebook, users wrote, "Unthinkable!
Declare that the G-D of Israel does not intervene or exist.
Then, observe this miraculous occurrence in southern Lebanon, where the missile boomerangs back to its launch site, demolishing it and eliminating five violent Islamist terrorists".
Facebook Link | Archived Link.
A similar post with the caption "RETURN TO SENDER!😬The missile launched at Israel returns to its source and blows up the launch pad" can be seen here. Archived Link.
However, as we investigated we came to know that the viral video is misleading. The video is not related to Israel. Here's the fact check.
Fact Check
We started our investigation by taking some screenshots from the viral video and conducting a reverse image search. This led us to a website where the viral video was uploaded on 24 June 2022. The description section of the video reads, "The city of Alchevsk, Ukraine, is currently under the control of Russian troops".
Conducting a reverse image search again, we found a report published on 24 June 2022 that contained photos similar to the screenshots from the viral video. The headline of the report read, "Scared?! - In occupied Alchevsk, a Russian anti-aircraft missile decided to return home VIDEO"
The report read, "In occupied Alchevsk, the invaders' air defense "intercepted" itself. In the temporarily occupied city of Alchevsk, Luhansk region, the "intercepted" itself..."
Please read here. Archived Link.
Using this clue and relevant keywords, we found a news report published in “The Telegraph” on 24 June 2022. The report contained the viral video and mentioned it to be the video of a Failed Russian missile striking its own launch site.
Please read here. Archived Link
Moving forward, we found the viral video on the YouTube channel “news.com.au” uploaded on 24 June 2024. The description of the video reads "Dramatic video has captured the moment a Russian surface-to-air missile system fires on itself in a bizarre malfunction".
The same video was uploaded on the YouTube channel "The Sun" on 24 June 2022. The description of the video reads, "DRAMATIC video captures the moment a Russian surface-to-air missile system fires on itself in a bizarre malfunction. In the footage, the missile can be seen shooting into the sky - before turning mid-air and slamming back into where it came from in an enormous explosion. The short clip was reportedly shot in the Ukrainian city of Alchevsk in the Luhansk region, which is under the occupation of pro-Russian separatist forces and is on the front line of the war in Ukraine".
From this, it's clear that the viral video is old and not related to Israel.
Conclusion
From our investigation, we can say that the claim is false. The viral video is old. The footage shows a Russian surface-to-air missile system malfunctioning and hitting its own launch site. This has no link to the Israel-Lebanon or Israel-Hamas war.
Sources
