A video depicting pilgrims sleeping outdoors during a Catholic festival held in Lisbon, Portugal, in August 2023 is being circulated with the false assertion that it portrays scenes from Morocco following the devastating earthquake that rocked the country. The powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck Morocco late on September 8, 2023, marking one of the deadliest earthquakes to hit the nation in decades, with the current death toll exceeding 2,900 people, according to CBS News. In the 15-second video, individuals can be seen sleeping in the open on the ground with several tents erected. The video is being shared on Facebook with a caption that reads, "Subhanallah this is really touching. Ta Allah! Protect the people of Morocco and forgive the dead. Ameen."
The same video is also being disseminated on X (formerly known as Twitter) with an identical false claim.
India TV did a Fact-Check
The India TV Fact Check team has verified that the viral video indeed originates from Lisbon, Portugal, featuring pilgrims sleeping outdoors during World Youth Day 2023, a Catholic festival held from August 1 to August 6, 2023. Moreover, the video predates the earthquake that struck Morocco on September 6, 2023. The visual cues from the video, such as the outdoor setting, along with responses to the viral post indicating its connection to the World Youth Day festival, led to a keyword search. This search confirmed that the viral video was recorded at the Catholic festival in Lisbon, Portugal.
Furthermore, the same user, Solo Catecumenos, uploaded the identical video to YouTube with a caption, roughly translated from Spanish to English, that reads, "This is how the million and a half young people spent the night in #Lisbon #Lisbon2023 #JMJ2023." The same Instagram user also shared several other videos from the festival.
Similar visuals of pilgrims sleeping outdoors during the festival were also found on X. These visuals match the backdrop seen in the viral video.
Pope Francis also addressed the pilgrims at World Youth Day 2023 through a video message, which occurred during the first week of August in Lisbon, Portugal. The previous World Youth Day took place in 2019 in Panama City, Panama, with the next scheduled for Seoul, South Korea, in 2027.
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