A video circulating on social media purportedly showing CNN journalists taking shelter from rocket attacks near the Israel-Gaza border has been debunked. The video suggests that the CNN team staged their coverage with a fabricated voiceover directing them.
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The video in question, accompanied by the caption “DEVELOPING: CNN got caught faking an attack from Hamas in Israel,” gained significant attention on Twitter, with 4,643 shares at the time of writing. It was also widely shared on Facebook, with claims that the CNN team orchestrated the attack.
In the video, a CNN news team is seen leaving their vehicle on foot and taking cover on the ground. A male voiceover is heard seemingly instructing the crew, with phrases like, “Look around as if you’re in danger, try to look nice and scared,” among other similar statements. However, a spokesperson for CNN has stated that the audio in the video is fabricated.
The original, unaltered footage, which features CNN’s Clarissa Ward and her team seeking shelter from rockets while reporting on the ongoing conflict, does not contain any such voiceover. This raises questions about the authenticity of the altered video being shared on social media.
Source: CNN Business
Furthermore, the video carries a watermark attributed to a website called “The Quartering,” which identifies itself as a news and content organization on X and a “social commentary channel” on YouTube. Interestingly, The Quartering’s X account responded to its original video, acknowledging that the voiceover is indeed fake.
This manipulated video began circulating online in the wake of a surprise attack on Israel by the Palestinian Islamist group, Hamas, on October 7. The attack led to one of the deadliest clashes in 75 years of the Israel-Palestine conflict, resulting in the tragic loss of at least 1,200 lives in Israel and 900 Palestinian lives, as reported by Reuters.
Source: Yahoo News
Verdict:
The video alleging that CNN journalists staged an attack near the Israel-Gaza border is debunked. It has been confirmed that a fabricated voiceover was added to the footage, misrepresenting the actual events. It is essential to rely on credible sources and verify information before accepting it as fact, especially in times of conflict and crisis.
