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| - Fact Check: Social media bombarded with old photos of devastation after drone attack in Syria
While the first image shows havoc caused by the earthquake that hit Syria in February 2023, the second one is related to a two-year-old bomb blast.
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India Today Fact Check
This image dates back to February 2023 and shows a building that collapsed due to the devastating earthquakes in Syria and Turkey.
A drone strike on October 6 killed at least 89 people in Syria’s Homs province. The Syrian government has blamed the attack on a military college during a graduation ceremony on “terrorist organisations supported by well-known international parties.”
In its aftermath, two photos have been making the rounds on social media, both allegedly showing the effects of the strike. Neither photo, however, had anything to do with it. Let us talk about them one by one.
PHOTO 1
The first photo showed a completely demolished building in what looks like a rural area. A Twitter user shared the photo and wrote: “People are dying and nobody cares #DroneAttack #Syria #SyriaDroneAttack”. Its archived version can be viewed here.
A quick reverse search of this image led us to a February 6 report published by The Moscow Times in an article about Russian aid being given to Turkey and Syria following devastating earthquakes. Thousands died and millions were displaced in two massive earthquakes that hit parts of Turkey and Syria in February 2023.
As per the photo’s caption, the image showed people searching through the wreckage of a collapsed building in Azmarin, a town in Syria’s Idlib province. It was shot by Ghaith Alsayed of the Associated Press. The photo was also used in several other reports in February 2023 with the same description.
We also found the photo on Alsayed’s Instagram page, where he had shared it on February 6 as part of a collection of photos from Syria in the aftermath of the quakes.
Thus, it’s clear that the photo in question has nothing to do with the drone strike.
PHOTO 2
The second photo showed people, including a man carrying a child in his arms, running away from a fire. Smoke billowing out of a burning car could be seen in the backdrop. A Twitter user shared it and wrote, “#Syria Under Attack. about 100 innocent Civilians dead and several were injured after the #droneattack on the Army Academy. People rushed for help and shelter.” Its archived version can be seen here.
Using reverse image search, we found that this photo was used in a January 31, 2021, report by The Hindustan Times. As per the photo caption, it showed the aftermath of an explosion in the rebel-controlled northern countryside of Syria's Aleppo province. The image was attributed to the news agency Agence France-Presse. At least five people died in this January 31, 2021, incident involving a car bomb.
Thus, it’s clear that this photo, too, predates the October 6 drone strike in Syria.
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