Old video of expired chicken discarded in Saudi Arabia viral as ‘boycott of French products’

French President Emmanuel Macron’s backing of Prophet Mohammed’s caricatures sparked anger in the Muslim world. Widespread protests to boycott French products were held in several Middle Eastern countries. Similar protests took place in Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Jordan and Canada. So far, Turkey has been the most vocal. On October 26, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for a boycott of French goods on national TV.

Subsequently, several Facebook and Twitter users have posted a video that appears to show people discarding goods from trucks. It’s shared along with the text, “This is how French products are being boycotted in Arab countries. France will lose its mind seeing this.”

(Translated from फ्रांस के सामान का बायकॉट, अरब देशों में कुछ इस तरह हो रहा है, ये सब देख कर, फ़्रांस जल्द ही पागल होने वाला है।)

A Twitter user posted this video on October 30.

फ्रांस के सामान का बायकॉट, अरब देशों में कुछ इस तरह हो रहा है,,,,, ये सब देख कर, फ़्रांस जल्द ही पागल होने वाला है।#boycottfranceproducts pic.twitter.com/ev7y2i2Rvg

— Tabish Khan 🇮🇳 (@tabishkhanss) October 30, 2020

Several Facebook users also shared the clip with identical Hindi caption.

2016 video shared with false claim

Using InVID video verification browser plugin we performed a reverse image search on Google and found a 2016 YouTube video. The Arabic title said that trucks were unloading chickens unfit for human consumption. The video is from Al-Qassim, Saudi Arabia.

(Translated from امانة القصيم تردم حملة 25 شاحنة محملة بالدجاج الغير صالح للاستخدام الادمي كانت في طريقها للتوزيع )

A 2016 report by Saudi Arabian news organisation Al Arabiya said that the video shows an official operation, under the supervision of Saudi Arabia’s Secretariat of Al-Qassim province, to dispose 80,000 packs of chicken no longer fit for human consumption. “These packs of expired chicken were confiscated inside 25 refrigerated trucks prior to their distribution inside and outside al-Qassim district,” per the report.

A four-year-old video from Saudi Arabia that shows packets of expired chicken being discarded was circulated as the recent boycott of French products in Arab countries.