Aerial footage of the aftermath of a deadly hurricane that pummelled Mexico’s beachside city of Acapulco has been viewed tens of thousands of times in social media posts that falsely claimed it showed Tel Aviv in Israel after a drone strike claimed by Huthi rebels. The video was filmed in October 2023, several months before the attack.
“Situation in Tel Aviv,” read the Indonesian-language text overlaid on a video shared on TikTok on July 22.
“See the state of Tel Aviv, a gift from Yemen hidden by the media.”
The footage, which garnered more than 128,000 views, shows an aerial view of damaged ships washed ashore.
Yemen’s Huthi rebels claimed a drone attack on July 19 on Tel Aviv that, according to Israeli authorities, left one person dead.
Since the Israel-Hamas war broke out in Gaza on October 7, the Iran-backed Huthis have carried out dozens of drone and missile attacks against shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, in what they say is an act of solidarity with the Palestinians.
The Tel Aviv drone attack marked a “new phase” in their operations again Israel, the Huthis said.
The footage racked up thousands more views on video sharing platform SnackVideo here, here and here.
Some social media users appeared to believe the footage showed the aftermath of the attack on Tel Aviv.
“I trust Yemen, they are tough and great fighters,” said one user.
“Bravo Yemen,” commented another user.
Hurricane Otis
A reverse image search on Google found a longer version of the footage posted on X by Mexican journalist Manuel Lopez San Martin on October 27, 2023 (archived here).
The X post detailed the devastation caused by Hurricane Otis, which left 51 people dead when it struck Acapulco in Mexico that month.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the video falsely shared on TikTok (left) and in Manuel Lopez San Martin’s X post (right):
AFP confirmed the video was filmed in Acapulco by comparing it to Google Street View of the city, picking out features such as a Walmart store and a tower block (archived link).
At another point in the video, a swimming pool and a lighthouse can be seen, which correspond to Google Earth images of Acapulco (archived link).
AFP has previously fact-checked misinformation around Yemen’s Huthi rebels here and here.
