A widely viewed Instagram video claims to show the moment that Iranian missiles were launched against two United States military bases in Iraq. But it doesn’t.
The video was posted Jan. 7 by @thesavoyshow, which describes itself as “Black American News/Satire/Media.” It depicts several clips of what appear to be missiles flying through a night sky.
“#Iran attacks American Troops. According to reports they launched over 60 Rockets,” the video caption reads.
The video was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook, which owns Instagram.) It has been viewed more than 128,000 times.
(Screenshot from Instagram)
Using reverse image searches, we traced the source of the video posted by @thesavoyshow. It doesn’t show Iran’s Jan. 7 strike on military bases in Iraq.
The video depicts an Oct. 1, 2018, missile strike by Iran against the Islamic State in Syria. It was originally aired by Iranian news agency Sima News and rebroadcast by several TV networks around the world, including Russia Today and Al Jazeera.
Iran attacked the Islamic State in retaliation for a Sept. 22 incursion on a military parade that left 25 people dead.
Below is the footage that Iran has released from its Jan. 7 strike, which targeted two airbases in Iraq: Al-Asad and Erbil. There were no reported casualties.
@thesavoyshow’s Instagram post is inaccurate. We rate it False.
Truth-o-meter Ruling
Statement
Says a video shows Iranian rockets being launched toward U.S. airbases in Iraq.
Context
an Instagram postSpeaker/Target
Statement Date
Our Sources
The Guardian, "Iran launches missiles at Iraq airbases hosting US and coalition troops," Jan. 8, 2020
InVid, accessed Jan. 8, 2020
Instagram post, Jan. 7, 2020
The New York Times, "Iran Fires a Ballistic Missile at ISIS in Syria, Avenging an Earlier Attack," Oct. 1, 2018
YouTube video, Oct. 1, 2018
YouTube video, Oct. 1, 2018
Translations
Language: en