Thousands are dead and vast stretches of the Gaza Strip have been reduced to rubble.
But one prolific spreader of conspiracy theories claims we’re being fed a lie – and he’s told his followers he has proof.
He claims to have discovered livestream footage showing several peaceful locations in the Middle East – evidence the Gaza war is fake.
This is false. None of the livestream locations are in the Gaza Strip. The widespread destruction in Gaza has been well-documented in videos and photographs, including here, here, here and here.
The claim was made in a Facebook video on April 15 by a frequent spreader of misinformation who calls himself “Guru”.
He tells his audience about livestream footage from online video platform Rumble which he claims shows the West Bank and Gaza (video mark 4min 40sec).
Guru then brings the livestream up on screen, showing the footage from 10 locations across the Middle East. All the locations appear peaceful and undamaged.
“I’ve been waiting for this evidence, because I’ve known this for a while that they were really duping us hard,” he says (video mark 5min 40sec).
According to Guru, who had been “watching these for hours and hours”, the mainstream media has been producing a “fake war” in Gaza as a “distraction”.
“This is live footage. Now where’s the carnage?” he says (video mark 6min 10sec).
The problem is none of the 10 screens are being streamed from the Gaza Strip, where Israel has launched a massive air and ground assault.
Each is clearly labelled with its location – Tehran and Isfahan in Iran; Tel Aviv, Netivot, Jerusalem, Ashdod, Safed and Ashkelon in Israel; Damascus in Syria; and the West Bank.
“This place is supposed to be total destruction,” Guru says (video mark 5min 30sec), referring to the West Bank.
“Look at this, the birds are chirping.”
Unlike the Gaza Strip, the West Bank has not been subjected to a sustained bombing campaign.
“You are seeing CGI, you are seeing a play,” he adds. “They are trying to create and run a fake war…”
He suggests something similar is also happening in Eastern Europe.
“Ukraine, very similar,” he says. “I’ve seen shots of Ukraine and I’m telling you people are out sitting in restaurants, eating tea, having a good time.”
AAP FactCheck has debunked several posts from the same user, examples here, here, here, and here.
The Verdict
The claim livestream footage of several locations in the Middle East is evidence the war in Gaza is fake is false.
The livestreams do not show Gaza. Widespread destruction in the Gaza Strip has been well documented.
False — The claim is inaccurate.
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