By: Ankita Kulkarni
January 18 2024
Old video from Saudi Arabia falsely shared as aid to Gaza being dumped in Egypt
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Screenshot of viral post circulating on social media. (Source: X/Facebook/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)
Fact-Check
The Verdict False
The viral clip dates back to 2016 and shows packs of spoiled chicken discarded in Saudi Arabia after their expiration date.
Claim ID 6cc542d6
What is the claim?
A clip circulating on social media shows thousands of packets being dumped from lorries to the ground in the middle of a deserted area. One such post on X (formerly Twitter) (archived here) shared the video with the claim, “The aid allocated to #غزة (#Gaza) has expired in Rafah, Egypt, and is in a landfill!! While people are dying of hunger in Gaza and the Arabs are unable to bring in aid until it has expired!! what a shame.”
The video is also being shared on Facebook with a similar claim and the archived posts can be viewed here, here, and here. Other archived versions of similar posts can be accessed here and here.
Screenshot of viral posts circulating on social media. (Source: X/Facebook/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)
The ongoing war between Israel and Hamas marked its 100th day on January 14, 2024, and the humanitarian crisis continues to persist in Gaza, as residents continue to grapple with catastrophic hunger and famine. Reuters reported that Qatar and France were able to break a deal between Israel and Hamas that aims at delivering medicine to hostages held in Gaza and more humanitarian aid to civilians sheltered in the Palestinian territory.
However, the video is from 2016 and shows spoiled chicken being dumped in Saudi Arabia.
What is the fact?
A reverse image search of the viral clip led us to a YouTube video shared on November 17, 2016, by a channel named Amged Adam. The video title, written in Arabic, roughly translates to, “Al-Qassim Municipality destroys 25 truckloads of spoiled chicken.” Al-Qassim is a province located in the center of Saudi Arabia. The same visuals have been shared in the now-viral post, albeit at a lower quality.
Comparison between the viral clip and the YouTube video. (Source: X/ YouTube/Screenshot)
A Google search led us to a report published by Saudi state-owned international Arabic news television channel Al Arabiya on November 17, 2016, which also included a YouTube video showing these visuals. The report stated that the video shows officials discarding 80,000 packs of expired chicken that were confiscated from 25 refrigerated trucks before their distribution.
Another report published by a local media outlet, Al-Marsd newspaper, which quoted Ali Al-Hussein, Acting Director of Operations and Emergency in the Qassim Municipality, stating that each of the confiscated trucks was loaded with 3,200 cartons of expired chicken, and about 3,200 cartons were found at the site where the packs were loaded.
The above evidence establishes that the video was captured in Saudi Arabia and not in Rafah, Egypt. It is unrelated to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
The verdict
The video does not show expired humanitarian aid being dumped in Rafah before reaching Gaza amid the ongoing war. The video was filmed in 2016 and shows the disposal of expired chicken in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, we have marked the claim as false.