Pro-Israeli accounts, over the last few weeks since the war began, have accused Palestinians of faking their suffering. Posts claiming to show how Palestinians have faked their deaths amid the conflict to inflate the death toll in the region are rampant online. BOOM has identified and debunked 12 such claims so far, which actually show unrelated photos and videos that are falsely connected to the Israel-Hamas conflict in order to undermine the Palestinian death toll.
The one term that has been made popular by these false claims is 'Pallywood'.
This is just one of the many false claims doing the rounds on the Internet.
To put things in context, more than 10,000 Palestinians and 1,400 Israelis have been killed in Gaza since October 7, when Islamist militant group Hamas first attacked Israel leading to retaliatory strikes that have continued for over a month.
According to the Gaza health ministry, of the 10,000 Palestinian deaths, about 4,104 include children. Gaza has one of the youngest populations in the world, with almost 47% people under the age of 18. However, since the Gaza health ministry is run by Hamas itself, the numbers released by them have been questioned on multiple occasions amid the conflict. One of the most popular sceptics include US President Joe Biden who expressed that he had "no confidence" in the Palestinian death toll released by the ministry. US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby made a similar statement and spoke about how the Palestinian death count could not be trusted because the "Gaza Ministry of Health was just a front for Hamas."
Despite these doubts, officials at the UN and other human rights activists and experts have found the Palestinian numbers broadly reliable. Some have even criticised the President for his remarks, calling them "outrageous, irresponsible, and flat-out racist and anti-Palestinian." The Health Ministry of Gaza had earlier even released a 212-page document as a response to the President that included the name, age, sex, and official identification number of the 6,747 people that had been killed in Gaza since October 7.
BOOM has debunked falsehoods ranging from Palestinians using dolls, using make-up to recreate injuries, using "crisis actors" and faking their own deaths.
In several instances videos from different parts of the world have also been peddled to further this fake narrative.
Footage From Film Shoots Falsely Shared As Palestinians Faking Death
One video of a film crew standing over a boy lying on his back with his leg twisted behind him and blood on the ground is viral online as a Palestinian film crew trying to falsely depict that the boy was attacked by an Israeli soldier. The caption also includes a reference to 'Pallywood' to claim that the Palestinians are using films to inflate their death toll. It reads, "Pallywood at its best. The Palestinians are faking scenes where a child is shot by Israeli soldiers. I wish they spent all these resources to promote peace rather than propaganda."
BOOM found that the clip is from a Palestinian short film 'Empty Place', based on the story of imprisoned Palestinian child Ahmed Manasra. We also found the short film uploaded on YouTube on April 2022.
Another video showing a makeup artist creating injury marks on the faces of some actors is viral online with the false claim that Palestinians are faking their injuries amid the conflict.
BOOM found that the video dates back to 2017 and is from a program that shows how Mariam Salah, a makeup artist from Gaza creates injuries on actors for her filmmaking work.
One video showing some people applying makeup resembling injuries on a girl is viral online with the claim that it shows Palestinians staging their injuries.
BOOM found that the video is from a film shoot in Lebanon. The film, shot by Mahmoud Ramzi intended to show how Palestinian children were impacted during the war. We also found visuals from the film shared on Mahmoud Ramzi's Instagram account.
Israeli Influencers, Government Affiliated Handles Share Similar False Claims
Several social media accounts linked to the Israeli government shared the video of a dead child and falsely claimed that it was a doll and not a real child.
The State of Israel's official X handle shared the video with the caption, "Hamas accidentally posted a video of a doll (yes a doll) suggesting that it was a part of casualties caused by an IDF attack." The post was later deleted from their page. Click here for an archive.
BOOM found that the video showed an actual child, four-year-old Omar Bilal Al-Banna who died on October 12, 2023 after his neighbourhood was struck by an Israeli airstrike. Palestinian videographer Momen El Halabi, who has been covering the conflict from Gaza confirmed the child's identity to Arab fact-checking outlet Misbar and French news outlet Libération. We found that Getty Images had also shared a photo of the child on October 12.
Another video showing two separate individuals-- a blogger in Gaza and a hospitalised man are being peddled online with the false claim that they are the same individual and that the man is pretending to be injured.
The official X account of the State of Israel shared the video with the caption, "Here's another video of this star on his deathbed a couple days later after an alleged air strike. Notice anything strange about the machines behind him? MOST OF THE MACHINES ARE DISCONNECTED AND THE ONES WHICH ARE HAVE FAKE STATS."
Right-wing verified account @MrSinha_, who regularly posts false and misleading content also shared the video on X. Click here to view.
BOOM found that both individuals in the video are different and not the same as the viral claims suggested. The man in the hospital is 16-year-old Mohammed Zendiq who lost his leg during an Israeli airstrike in the West Bank in July 2023. The man in the second video is blogger Saleh Aljafarawi, who has been documenting the conflict in Gaza on his social media.
Another video showing a woman wailing beside two bodies wrapped in white sheets while a man consoles her and adjusts the sheets a bit is viral online with the false claim that the scene is staged.
The verified X account of the Embassy of Israel to the USA shared the video with the caption, "A visible miracle, a return to life. Hamas uses fake news and propaganda to lie to the world. Actors are put in body bags to be mourned on television as seen in this @CNN video clip where a body bag miraculously raises its head."
The verified X account of Israel also shared the video with the caption, "Reminder: The Gaza Ministry of Health=Hamas. Bodies can’t move their heads." The handle later took the video down after being called out on the platform. Click here for an archive of their post.
BOOM found that the viral video was from when the bodies of the people who had died during the ongoing conflict were kept outside a hospital in Gaza. News outlet Times of Gaza had shared the same video on their X handle. Unlike the viral video, this original video did not contain any red circle near the body, which made it evident that the body was not moving, but instead the man who was consoling the woman unwrapped one of the sheets, leading to the movement suggested in the viral claim.
Other images shared by journalists from outside the hospital also showed the woman and the man in the blue tshirt consoling her. Click here and here to view.
Unrelated Photos Shared To Make False Claims About Palestinians
The photo of an individual wrapped in white cloth while using their phone is also being shared with similar claims of Palestinians faking their deaths.
BOOM found that the photo shows a child from an October 2022 Halloween party in Thailand. The child's mother shared photos of him and his sibling on Facebook last year, one of which was an exact match to the viral image.
Another photo of a girl being rescued by three individuals is viral online with the false claim that the child is a Palestinian and faked her injuries amid the conflict.
BOOM found that the photo is from August 2016 and was taken in Aleppo, Syria, when a funeral gathering was bombed, killing 16 people. We were able to find several news reports from that time that carried the same image. The first, second, and third image were shared by Getty Images in August 2016 and carried details of how the child was rescued amid the bombing.
Other Posts Falsely Claiming Palestinians Staging Deaths in Gaza
One video showing a man wrapped in a white cloth with his eyes open is being shared with the false claim that the man is faking his death in Gaza.
A caption on X reads, "We're happy to report his condition has been upgraded to alive."
BOOM found that the video is unrelated to the Israel-Hamas conflict and shows a funeral management course being taught in Malaysia. The post was originally shared on Instagram and TikTok before the ongoing conflict erupted in Gaza.
One video of a man removing the bandage around his head in order to reassure his mother that he was going to be fine is also viral with the claim that he was faking his injuries. A caption on X reads, ""Mom everything is fine it's just for the camera""
BOOM found that the man was injured during the recent conflict, and a video of him being admitted to the Nasser Medical Centre in Khan Younis, Gaza, was also shared by a journalist on Instagram. We spoke to the Mohmmed Awad, the journalist who shot the video, who confirmed that the man was injured by a shrapnel. Other fact-checkers fluent in Arabic told BOOM that the woman's son and the people around her were trying to reassure her by saying he was doing all right. One source even revealed that the word "camera" was not used in the video at all, contrary to the suggestion made in the viral caption.
One video showing a series of bodies covered in white cloths that appear to be moving inside the shrouds is also being circulated with this claim. Users suggested that Qatar-based news outlet Al-Jazeera staged these fatalities.
BOOM found that the video was from October 2013 and showed a protest at Egypt's Al-Azhar University. Students of the Muslim Brotherhood from the university staged this protest after the Egyptian military ousted then President Mohamed Morsi following what the Brotherhood called a "military coup".
Another video showing a mock funeral was also falsely connected to Palestine to claim that people in Gaza were faking their deaths.
BOOM found that the video showed a mock funeral in Jordan during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020. Arabic news website Youm7 reported on the incident and explained how the mock funeral was organised so the individuals could leave their homes amid the strict lockdown. They were soon caught by the police and the man playing the corpse was arrested.