Viral video doesn't show Palestinians fleeing Gaza to Sweden
The posts tend to contain anti-immigrant and anti-Palestinian rhetoric. Some claim that the people in the video are wearing western attire, and that while they may appear willing to assimilate western customs, they will soon cast this attitude aside.
"Once their stomachs are full, they will wear knitted caps, build mosques and say 'this country belongs to our forefathers'," one of the most viral posts sharing the video on X reads.
Other posts sharing the video praise Sweden for accepting Palestinians and urge others to leave Gaza as soon as possible. This one has been shared by a self-proclaimed "Proud fierce Zionist" account.
Regardless of the captions shared with the video, the claim that the people depicted are refugees fleeing the war is false.
The video actually shows members of the Rawahel Charity Association's Under-14 football team, which is based in the West Bank, not Gaza.
It can be traced back to its original source through a reverse image search using stills from the videos. It leads us to the Rawahel Charity Association's social media accounts. For example, it posted the same video to its TikTok account on 10 July with the caption "To Sweden".
Its TikTok bio says that it's a Palestinian sports association that aims to foster talent and fulfil children's dreams of travelling. A browse of its posts across different social media channels, including TikTok and Instagram, shows that the team has been on an extensive tour of Europe.
Its first stop, for example, was in France, with photos showing members of the team posing in front of the Eiffel Tower.
Yet another video shows the team getting off a coach with the caption "First destination: Paris, France", with more posts also locating them in Paris.
Other posts put the team in Gothenburg in Sweden, and more reputable reports state that stops in Denmark and Norway are up next, as part of a tour that will last 46 days.
As the Israel-Hamas war continues, so too does the stream of disinformation targeting those most affected, which is often combined with an anti-immigration narrative for maximum exposure.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
LeMonde
13 hours ago
- LeMonde
French prosecutors seek trial for PSG's Achraf Hakimi over rape charge
French prosecutors on Friday, August 1, called for Paris Saint-Germain star Achraf Hakimi to face trial for the alleged rape of a woman in 2023, which the Moroccan international denies. The Nanterre prosecutor's office told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that they had requested that the investigating judge refer the rape charge to a criminal court. "It is now up to the investigating magistrate to make a decision within the framework of his order," the prosecutor's office told AFP in a statement. Hakimi, 26, played a major role in PSG's run to their first Champions League title, the full-back scoring the opener in the 5-0 rout of Inter Milan in the final in May. Hakimi, who helped Morocco to their historic run to the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup, was charged in March 2023 with raping a 24-year-old woman. Hakimi allegedly paid for his accuser to travel to his home on February 25, 2023, in the Paris suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt while his wife and children were away on holiday. On the night in question she said she had traveled to his house in d by police. Although the woman refused to make a formal accusation, prosecutors decided to press charges against the player. She told police at the time that she had met Hakimi in January 2023 on Instagram. Contacted by AFP after Friday's development, Hakimi's lawyer Fanny Colin described the night in question she said she had travelled to his house in a taxi paid for by Hakimi. She told police Hakimi had started kissing her and making non consensual sexual advances, before raping her, a police source told AFP at the time. She said she managed to break free to text a friend who came to pick her up. Contacted by AFP after Friday's development Hakimi's lawyer Fanny Colin described the call by prosecutors for a trial as "incomprehensible and senseless in light of the case's elements". "If these requisitions were to be followed, we would obviously pursue all avenues of appeal," she added. "My client welcomes this news with immense relief," Rachel-Flore Pardo, the lawyer representing the woman, told AFP.
Euronews
18 hours ago
- Euronews
Why landowners have introduced fee on this Italian hiking trail
High in the Italian Dolomites, a hiking trail on Seceda mountain has become a renowned place for taking dramatic shots of the spiky Odle Peaks. But its growing fame on social media is becoming a nightmare for residents of the area in South Tyrol. This summer, walkers and locals have been sharing images of the route jammed with queues of tourists waiting to take Instagram-worthy snaps. Some 8,000 people reportedly walked the path on a single day last week. Frustrations have grown to the point that local landowners have decided to take independent action and install a turnstile at the beginning of a trail. The move has been controversial, but it is highlighting a wider, growing issue of overtourism, poor visitor behaviour, and environmental damage in Italy's mountains. Farmers ask tourists to pay fee to hike scenic route At the beginning of July, a group of local farmers set up a turnstile with a toll on the Odle trail to protest against the constant passage of tourists who, they say, disrespect the area. "The trails are abandoned and the meadows are full of rubbish," they said in a statement. The turnstile was quickly deactivated by the Puez-Odle Nature Park authorities. However, in recent days, the system has been reinstated. The landowners said in a statement that the initial installation of the turnstile was primarily intended as a provocation - or a 'cry for help' as local newspaper Il Dolomiti describes it. However, since receiving no contact from 'political representatives, associations, or organisations", they chose to reactivate the system. Anyone who wishes to hike along the route is asked to pay a €5 fee - children and residents excluded. There is a person present to take payments, which can be made by cash or card. The landowners say they have been obliged to charge a toll to compensate for the damage to their land and to fund their upkeep of the slopes. Mountain associations denounce the turnstile Local tourism associations and mountain guides have weighed in on the debate, with many denouncing the landowners' move. "If from one day to the next every landowner imposed a toll, what would happen?" Tullio Mussner, president of the Lia da Mont association, told local news outlet L'Altramontagna. There are reportedly now staff members of the tourism association Dolomites Val Gardena posted at the turnstile to inform visitors that it is not mandatory to pay the requested fee. They also direct hikers to an alternative, slightly longer route that bypasses the gate and still reaches the famous panoramic viewpoint of the Odle Peaks. The organisation is reportedly preparing an information sign to be placed next to the turnstile, clarifying that it is a private initiative and indicating the way to the alternative route. Greater regulation of tourism is needed in the Dolomites Others, including local residents, say the provocative move by landowners has been useful. Carlo Alberto Zanella, president of the South Tyrolean branch of the national hiking association Club Alpino Italia (CIA), told local newspaper Salto, 'it serves to bring a real problem to public attention.' He said visitors walk through or cycle across the meadows bordering the trail, spoiling the fields and their crops before the farmers can harvest. 'You need education about how to respect the environment. That's the point.' Local tourism groups also acknowledge that overcrowding is partly due to a lack of regulation by provincial authorities. Mussner called for local farmers to be financially compensated for summer tourism, as is done in winter for owners of land crossed by ski slopes. This is particularly urgent given the booming interest in mountain destinations amid boiling European summers. According to research by the Demoskopika Institute, for the second consecutive year, South Tyrol is one of the destinations in Italy most exposed to tourist overcrowding, on a par with Venice. Is Apple to blame for the Seceda mountain's popularity? Some say the culprit of this area's popularity is the technology company Apple. It used a photograph of the Seceda mountain as the official wallpaper for its iOS 7 operating system a decade ago. Two years ago, it featured the Seceda again in a short promotional video during the iPhone 15 launch event. Local groups say the result of that involuntary publicity was a huge increase in visitors, often driven by the desire to just take a few photos of the views and then leave. They also say that the cable car from Ortisei that takes passengers to the summit is exacerbating the problem. The route has also seen intense overcrowding, with local guides warning visitors to arrive early in the morning to avoid the lengthy queues. Some tourism and environmental groups are now calling for a price increase in summer or even its complete closure in peak season to prevent the unsustainable influx of visitors. The company that operates the cable car has instead proposed tripling its capacity amid much controversy and fears of stoking the overtourism problem.
Euronews
2 days ago
- Euronews
German biathlete Laura Dahlmeier dies in climbing accident in Pakistan
German biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier has died in a climbing accident at a remote site on a mountain in northern Pakistan. Dahlmeier was struck by falling rocks on Monday while ascending Laila Peak in the Karakoram mountain range with a partner, who survived. Authorities launched a rescue mission on Monday after receiving a distress signal from Dahlmeier's climbing partner, Marina Eva, who managed to descend to base camp with help from rescuers on Tuesday. Dahlmeier's partner had tried for several hours to rescue her, but that wasn't possible because of the difficult terrain and persistent rockfall, a statement on Dahlmeier's Instagram page said. 'Her partner, who could no longer hear any signs of life, eventually decided to leave the danger zone and resume her descent,' according to the statement. It was Dahlmeier's express wish 'that in a case like this, no one should risk their life to recover her,' the statement said, calling for that wish to be respected. It said Dahlmeier's family thanked the rescue team and climbers, who did their best to make her rescue possible. Rescuers confirmed Dahlmeier's death on Wednesday, but could not retrieve her body because of unfavourable weather, said Faizullah Faraq, a spokesman for the regional Gilgit-Baltistan government. Any final decision on retrieving the body would follow the wishes of Dahlmeier's family, Faraq said. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier offered his condolences to Dahlmeier's parents, writing that she 'was an exceptional sportswoman.' He recalled that he presented her with the highest honour on German sport, the Silver Laurel Leaf, shortly after she won her first Olympic gold medal in 2018. 'Laura Dahlmeier was an ambassador for our country in the world, a role model for peaceful, cheerful and fair coexistence across borders,' he said. Bodies of foreign climbers who die attempting to summit mountains in Pakistan are typically recovered at the request of their families, but if the family declines a rescue, the remains are left at the spot where the climber died. Dahlmeier was injured at an altitude of about 5,700 metres around noon on Monday, according to her management team in Germany. She won seven gold, three silver and five bronze medals at Biathlon World Championships, along with 20 World Cup races and the overall World Cup in the 2016-17 season, according to her website. She won gold medals in the sprint and pursuit races at the Pyeongchang Olympics in 2018 and the bronze medal in the individual competition. Dahlmeier ended her biathlon career in 2019, when she was 25. She grew up in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in the German Alps and turned to mountaineering challenges after ending her biathlon career. She had been a state-certified mountain and ski guide since 2023 and volunteered for the local mountain rescue team.
