A video displaying a photoshoot has been falsely labelled on social media as “Pallywood” — a derogatory time period adopted by conspiracy theorists to accuse Palestinians of faking casualties. The footage predates the Israel-Gaza struggle by a number of years.
“Extra Pallywood is Full HD. Despicable scum,” reads a Fb put up from February 15, 2024, that seems to indicate a behind-the-scenes video of a photoshoot.
The clip — filmed in a sandy and rubbish-strewn space — reveals a photographer ripping a boy’s tunic and wrapping his arm in a bandage earlier than smearing it with pretend blood. Two males carrying army fatigues will also be seen.
Posts describing the footage as “Pallywood” — a derogatory label that blends “Palestine” and “Hollywood” — have popped up on social media globally, together with in Israel , the Netherlands and Ukraine.
The clip is only one of quite a few movies which have been shared alongside an identical deceptive declare on-line since Palestinian Islamist group Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing no less than 1,160 folks, in response to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.
Militants additionally seized about 250 hostages, of whom Israel believes 130 stay in Gaza, together with 33 who’re presumed useless.
Israel’s army has waged a retaliatory offensive towards Hamas that has killed over 32,400 folks, most of them ladies and youngsters, in response to Gaza’s Hamas-run well being ministry.
The time period “Pallywood” typically accompanies “disaster actor” conspiracy theories, which accuse civilians from each Israel and the Gaza Strip of faking accidents or deaths to demonise the opposite facet.
However the video predates the struggle in Gaza.
‘Iraq photoshoot’
A key phrase search of the Instagram deal with “1.q3i” seen within the video within the false put up discovered a TikTok account which posted the identical video on December 15, 2022 (archived hyperlink), a couple of 12 months earlier than the Israel-Gaza struggle erupted in October 2023.
It reveals the identical boy and man organising a shot.
The overlaid textual content in Arabic says “A shy child” whereas the caption, additionally in Arabic, says “The second account of Salji the photographer”.
Under is a screenshot comparability of the clip within the false posts (left) and the TikTok video (proper):
The photographer didn’t reply to AFP’s request for remark, nevertheless, he instructed the Australian Related Press that his identify was Murtada Fallah and he filmed the video in 2019 throughout a photoshoot in Baghdad (archived hyperlink).
He additionally posted extra footage on TikTok (right here and right here) from the identical shoot (archived hyperlinks right here and right here).
AFP recognized one of many troopers’ shoulder patches with an eagle because the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) insignia, as proven on the company’s verified account on social media platform X (archived hyperlink).
Under is a comparability between a screenshot of the video within the false posts (left) and an AFP photograph of a CTS member (proper), taken within the southern Iraq metropolis of Basra with the insignia highlighted in crimson:
Fallah’s different shoots have proven Baghdad’s Martyr Monument and an Iraqi SWAT automobile (archived hyperlinks right here and right here).
AFP has debunked different misinformation concerning the Israel-Hamas struggle, together with false “disaster actor” claims right here and right here.