Two photos have been shared repeatedly in multiple posts on Facebook which purport to show Dubai's Burj Khalifa, the tallest tower in the world, illuminated with the Israeli flag to celebrate a new peace treaty between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The claim is false; the photos have been doctored to include an image of the Israeli flag.
The first photo was shared on Facebook here on August 15, 2020.
The photo shows the Burj Khalifa illuminated with the flag of Israel.
Screenshot of the misleading post, taken on August 18, 2020
The post's Indonesian-language caption translates to English as: "The flag of Israel on Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), New Era in the Peaceful History in the Middle East has begun."
The white text on the red background reads: "UAE to Israel".
The photo was posted two days after US President Donald Trump announced on Twitter on August 13, 2020, that Israel and the UAE had reached a "Historic Peace Agreement". AFP reported on the agreement here and here.
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The same photo was also shared here with an identical claim.
The same photo was also shared with the same claim in English here and here, and in Arabic here, where it was shared more than 4,200 times before it was removed.
A second photo was also posted on Facebook here with a similar claim about the Burj Khalifa.
Screenshot of the second misleading photo, taken on August 18, 2020
The claim is false; the photos have been doctored to include the Israeli flag.
A reverse image search on Google and a subsequent keyword search found this photo. It was previously published in a travel blog post on October 22, 2019.
Below is a screenshot of the photo on Jualiasalbum.com:
Screenshot of the original image on Jualisalbum.com website
The photo in the blog does not show the Israeli flag.
The photo's caption reads: "Burj Khalifa at night."
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Below is a screenshot comparison between the first misleading image (L) and the photo on Jualisalbum.com website (R) –- AFP has circled prominent features in red.
Screenshot comparison between the first misleading post (L) and the photo on Jualisalbum.com website (R) Another reverse image search and a keyword search found this photo, posted on the official Twitter account of the Dubai Government Media Office on May 12, 2020.
The tweet reads: "The World's Tallest Donation Box at the Burj Khalifa hits the 1.2 million-light mark, achieving its target of collecting 1.2 million meals to support the #10MillionMeal initiative in a week, thanks to individuals of more than 110 nationalities."
Below is a screenshot comparison between the second misleading image (L) and the Dubai Government Media Office's photo (R), with some identical features circled in red by AFP:
Screenshot comparison between the second misleading image (L) and the Dubai Government Media Office's photo (R) (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by BOOM staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
