Reporting from Gaza tunnels: Viral video is from 2021; claim by Organiser, TV9 journalist & others misleading

by Abhishek Kumar

A report by Russia’s state news network RT (formerly known as Russia Today) is doing the rounds on social media. In it, a news correspondent is seen descending into a tunnel and reporting from inside.

Linking this report to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine, Aditya Raj Kaul, executive editor, TV9 Network, said that as Israel began targeting the Gaza Terror Tunnel Network, Hamas terrorist groups had given access to a Russia Today reporter to visit their tunnel network. He claimed this was Russia Today’s ground report from underground in Gaza. (Archived link)

A user named Dr. Eli David also shared this report and claimed that these were some of the tunnels Hamas used located underneath hospitals in Gaza. It is worth noting that the Israel Defense Force had recently claimed that the headquarters of Hamas’ terrorist activities were located in the tunnels underneath Shifa Hospital, the largest health facility in Gaza.

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) mouthpiece Organiser Weekly also amplified the video with the same claim. (Archived link)

An account named Israel My Channel also made a similar claim while sharing the footage. (Archived link)

The video was being circulated widely by Israel My Channel and a number of social media users alike.

Fact-check

Alt News performed a reverse image search using a frame taken from the viral report. This led us to a report uploaded by the Twitter handle of RT Arab dated June 14, 2021 containing the same footage. The tweet states that the RT team entered the Saraya al-Quds tunnels under the ground of Gaza to monitor their depth and examine the restoration work completed after the last war.

In other words, this video is over two-year old.

To sum it up, TV9 network’s executive editor Aditya Raj Kaul, along with several other social media users, shared a two-year-old video report by RT falsely linking it to the recent conflict between Israel and Palestine.

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About the Author

Abhishek is a senior fact-checking journalist and researcher at Alt News. He has a keen interest in information verification and technology. He is always eager to learn new skills, explore new OSINT tools and techniques. Prior to joining Alt News, he worked in the field of content development and analysis with a major focus on Search Engine Optimization (SEO).