By: Emmi Kivi
January 16 2024
Art project installation falsely shared as Israeli-made Palestinian doll for sale
Share Article:
Source: X/TikTok/Screenshots
Fact-Check
The Verdict False
The plastic baby doll was made for an art project in Mexico organized in support of Palestine. It is neither on sale nor made in Israel.
Claim ID ea8f27b9
Context
Social media users recently shared a video of a plastic baby doll with bloody wounds surrounded by toy soldiers. The doll appears to be behind a plastic wall with the flags of Israel, the U.S., and the EU, and the text "includes Palestinian baby" (translated from Spanish) on its cover. Some versions of the video show the camera moving through an outdoor market.
The video was shared with claims the baby doll was made in Israel and is available for sale. An example of such a post reads, "Palestinian baby doll made in Israel…This is sickening." Another post caption stated, "WTF dead Palestinian children dolls are being sold. Made in Israel."
Logically Facts found that the doll is not made in Israel or available for public sale. It was made for an art project in Mexico in support of Palestine.
In Fact
A reverse image search of some of the keyframes of the footage led us to an Instagram account "@vlocke_negro" with matching visuals to the viral footage. The account had published multiple posts with a matching baby doll on the account. According to the account bio, "the Palestinian baby is a pro-Palestinian activist art intervention" (translated from Spanish).
In a post published on January 6 from Mexico City, the image shows a person holding a similar baby doll to that in the viral video.
Screenshot of the Instagram post stating the baby was made for an art project in support of Palestine, published January 6 from Mexico City, Mexico.
The post was translated from Spanish to English with Google Translate. (Source: Instagram)
Translated from Spanish, the image caption reads: "No one has died during this protest that tries to make visible what happens every day in the Gaza Strip, we managed to get your attention. Now the hard facts: more than 10,000 children are dead and thousands have been injured… We are with Palestine, make no mistake. On January 5, we approached the street toy merchants within the framework of "Three Kings' Day"... This project was designed for the media and social networks, some, very few, asked us about the intentions of this project, the others responded rapaciously in search of the desired like.”
Reaching the 100-day mark of the Israel-Hamas war, the Health Ministry in Gaza reported that more than 10,000 children have been killed. On January 15, they also estimated the current total death total to have surpassed 24,100.
The verdict
The plastic doll was not made in Israel and was not for sale, it was made for an art project in Mexico to support the Palestinians ahead of the Three Kings' Day. The bio of the Instagram account where the footage was originally posted states the Palestinian baby is a pro-Palestinian activist art intervention. Therefore, we have marked the claim as false.