Fact Check: In the past week, nearly 1,000 people, including women and children, have died in Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon. Israel claims it is targeting Hezbollah fighters and their military bases. Meanwhile, the Israeli Prime Minister has urged the people of Lebanon to free themselves from the control of Hassan Nasrallah, the chief of Hezbollah who was killed in Friday’s airstrikes. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu released a video message, clarifying that Israel's fight is not against the Lebanese people but against Hezbollah. Now, a video of Nasrallah crying uncontrollably has gone viral on social media.
It is being claimed that Nasrallah broke down after losing his top commander, Muhammad Kabisi, in the recent attacks on Lebanon. However, when India TV conducted a fact check, this claim turned out to be completely false. The video has no connection to the recent Israeli attacks in Lebanon. The video of Nasrallah is more than two years old.
What was the claim?
People have been sharing Nasrallah’s video across various social media platforms, claiming that he is crying loudly after the death of Commander Kabisi. One social media user shared the video, writing, "Karma catches up! Look at this radical Muslim! This is Hezbollah’s commander Nasrallah. On October 7th, when Israelis were killed, he was laughing loudly! Today, when Hezbollah terrorists have died, he is crying uncontrollably. Now he is begging for the lives of his own people." Similar captions have been shared by many on Facebook and X.
India TV’s investigation
As the video was spreading rapidly on social media, India TV decided to investigate the claim. Using Google's open search, we searched various websites and social media platforms. During this investigation, we found multiple media reports using screenshots of the video. A reverse search led to a Facebook account where the viral video had been uploaded on August 12, 2022. This clearly shows that the video is not recent but over two years old.
Further investigation on YouTube also revealed multiple videos related to the viral clip. On the YouTube channel ‘Moamel Al-Maqdisi’, the viral clip had been uploaded two years ago. According to the information gathered, Nasrallah was crying while remembering the death of Imam Hussain, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad.
What did the fact check reveal?
The fact check revealed that the viral video claim was false. India TV found that Nasrallah's old video is being shared in connection with the recent attacks on Lebanon, which is misleading. People are advised to be cautious and not believe such false posts.
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