AAP FACTCHECK – Disinformation spreaders are capitalising on the fear and panic following the detonation of various telecommunication devices in Lebanon by repurposing a 2021 image of a damaged iPhone.
It is being claimed the pictured phone was one of the devices blown up across the country in an attack on members of the Hezbollah militant group.
The claim is false. There have been no verified reports of iPhones exploding amid the waves of attacks, and the image can be traced back to an unrelated news article from 2021.
Citing Lebanon’s health ministry, Reuters reports that 32 people have been killed and more than 3400 people injured after the back-to-back attacks on September 17 and 18 that caused Hezbollah-owned pagers and hand-held radio devices to explode.
The image appears in several Facebook posts, claiming that iPhones are also being targeted.
“iPhone devices are starting to explode in Lebanon,” one post reads in Arabic.
“iPhones exploding in Lebanon blowing up random people,” another is captioned, alongside the hashtags “#BOYCOTT #IPHONE“
A reverse image search reveals that the photo of the destroyed iPhone is from a 2021 news report about a house fire by Egyptian news site Cairo24.
Following the first wave of attacks, which targeted pagers, Reuters reported that sources said Israeli spies planted and detonated the explosives.
Hezbollah has been engaged in escalating military exchanges with Israeli forces on the country’s shared border since Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza last year.
At the time of writing, Israeli officials have not commented on the blasts.
It is not the first piece of disinformation relating to the attacks to circulate. A video showing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu whistling and dancing is also being misrepresented.
“Hebrew Sources: Netanyahu celebrates the Israeli pager attack on Lebanon in his car,” one post is captioned.
However, that video was originally shared by Mr Netenyahu on his TikTok account in March 2021, as detailed in a debunk on the Newschecker website.
The Verdict
False – The claim is inaccurate.
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