Photo from Yemen shot in 2015 shared as security check at Afghanistan Airport

Abhishek Kumar, a sub-editor at The Lallantop, recently shared an image claiming it shows security check procedure underway at Afghanistan’s airport. (Archive link)

#afghanistan एयरपोर्ट पर सिक्योरिटी चेक की मनोरम तस्वीर.. मतलब एपिक है ये..! pic.twitter.com/oqNAljuvoa

— Abhishek Kumar (@Abhishakejee) August 17, 2021

A Facebook page shared the image and accompanying claim in a post that garnered more than 7,000 likes.

The image is widespread on Facebook. A few handles on Twitter also shared the photo as scenes from Kabul Airport.

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2015 image from Yemen

We performed a reverse image search and located the photo in a July 2015 Facebook post by a UK-based entertainment company called LADbible.

Although the page did not provide more information about the photo, we noticed that it was of a much higher resolution than the viral image. We performed a reverse image search for a second time, which led us to a November 2015 article on a website that carried the picture. According to this website, the image was taken in Yemen.

We also found a tweet by a journalist from CBS News containing the photo dated July 1, 2015. The accompanying caption read, “Memories of Yemen: Houthi soldiers investigating a man attending a rally. Knives, skewers and machine guns are allowed.”

Memories from #yemen: Houthi soldier searching a man going into a rally: Qat, daggers & machine guns allowed! pic.twitter.com/TFevPYz9pv

— yemenfelix1 (@amtadros) July 1, 2015

Using a keyword search, we found a video story by CBS Evening News dated June 16, 2015. We noticed that the 1:21 mark of the video resembles the image that has been circulating. The story also mentions that the Houthi rebels were conducting security checks.

According to a 2015 BBC report, Houthi rebels based in northern Yemen had attacked other parts of the country. Their capture of the capital city Sanaa forced the president to flee the country. The report states, “Houthis are Shia Muslims, who have the support of Iran. The rest of Yemen largely comprises Sunni Muslims, and Saudi Arabia started the bombings against the Houthi rebels.”

To sum it up, a 2015 picture from Yemen was falsely circulated as Afghanistan.