| schema:text
| - Fact Check: Viral video falsely links US warship fire to recent Houthi attack in Red Sea
India Today found that the footage is from July 2020 and shows a ship ablaze in San Diego, California.
Listen to Story
India Today Fact Check
The video shows the USS Bonhomme Richard on fire in San Diego, California, in July 2020. It’s unrelated to the recent Houthi attacks.
On January 10, the US and UK’s naval forces shot down 21 drones and missiles fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, one of the largest attack in the Red Sea shipping zone.
Now, a video of a warship up in flames is going viral on social media. Allegedly, it shows the USS Bonhomme Richard on fire after an attack by the Houthis in the Red Sea. The warship in the video can be seen engulfed in fire with thick smoke billowing from it.
One X user claimed, “Footage: American warship that was targeted in the Red Sea yesterday.” An archived version of the post can be seen here.
India Today found that the viral video shows the American battleship USS Bonhomme Richard on fire in San Diego, California, in July 2020.
OUR PROBE
Reverse-searching keyframes from the video led us to several media reports from July 2020. An Iranian news portal carrying the viral video in its report, noted that the American Navy warship USS Bonhomme Richard engulfed in flames off the coast of San Diego in the US.
With this clue, we performed keyword searches and came across several news and video reports from July 2020. A video report by The Global News on YouTube uploaded on Jul 13, 2023, highlighted that a US warship docked at Naval base in San Diego erupted in fire and left 21 people injured.
The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department reported an explosion in conjunction with the blaze. Arson charges were filed against one sailor who was accused of starting the fire out of animosity toward commanders. However, he was found not guilty on all counts during a trial by a Navy judge.
Similar reports about the fire that destroyed the USS Bonhomme Richard in San Diego can be seen here and here.
USS Bonhomme Richard was decommissioned following the fire that left it damaged beyond “affordable repair”. The video of its decommissioning ceremony can be seen below.
We looked for reports if any US or UK ship was damaged in the recent Houthis attack. However, the reports suggested the contrary.
Thus, it’s clear that the video circulating on social media falsely links an old incident off the California coast to the recent Houthi attack in the Red Sea.
Please share it on our at 73 7000 7000
You can also send us an email at factcheck@intoday.com
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)