News channel TV9 Digital uploaded a video on August 25 claiming it depicted the recent situation in Afghanistan. One of the clips was shown in the beginning few seconds was aired as chaos at Kabul Airport during the evacuation process. (Archive link)
A Twitter user had shared this video on August 16 with hashtags #Afghanistan, #Taliban, and #KabulAirport. (Archive link)
Where is the UN. The superpowers. Why aren’t all nations coming together to help them. This is so sad. #Afghanistan #Taliban #AfghanLivesMatter #USAabandonedAfghanistan #wewantpeace #AfganistanBurning #KabulHasFallen #KabulFalls #kabulairport pic.twitter.com/JTlyRcL0NU
— wear a mask 😷stay safe Nepal 🇳🇵 (@uajalsingh) August 16, 2021
This footage has been viral on Facebook as visuals from Kabul Airport. It has also made its way to YouTube.
Fact-check
In a reply to a tweet carrying the video, a Twitter user said the video didn’t show Kabul Airport and that the footage has been on the internet since 2019. He quote-tweeted a January 6, 2019 post by Jon Machota, a journalist at sports portal ‘The Athletic’ where Machota wrote that this crowd consisted of American football spectators after the stadium doors were opened for the Cowboys vs Seahawks match.
Hi, this is not the Kabul airport. Notice the date on the tweet where your video comes from? It’s from an American football stadium in January of 2019. The disaster in Kabul is bad enough without spreading lies, thanks. https://t.co/UV2AmrIIRA
— Schwerpunkt (@Bullix1) August 19, 2021
He also told Reuters in an email that he had himself recorded the footage.
On January 6, 2019, another outlet called The Spun covered this video of fans thronging the AT&T Stadium in Texas before the Cowboys playoff game, adding that it was “insane”.
The Dallas Morning News uploaded a similar clip taken from a different angle of the massive crowd of fans entering the AT&T Stadium in September 2019.
The video, therefore, has nothing to do with Kabul Airport. It actually depicts a crowd of sports fans entering a stadium in the United States.
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