FACT CHECK: Video Claims To Show Palestinian Father Teaching His Kid To Laugh At Bombings
A video shared on Facebook claims to show a Palestinian father teaching his kid to laugh at bombings.
Verdict: Misleading
The video shows a Syrian father, not a Palestinian father.
Fact Check:
Hamas militants are attempting to stave off an Israeli advance in Gaza City following their invasion of the Gaza Strip on Oct. 28, according to Reuters. U.S. President Joe Biden has called for a “pause” in the conflict to allow for trapped civilians to get out of the area, BBC reported.
Social media users have been sharing a video claiming to show a Palestinian father showing his daughter how to laugh at bombs. The video’s caption reads, “This is the first time I see a child in Gaza and smile.This father taught his daughter to LAUGH every time there’s an airstrike, and it worked! This is a common strategy in warzones, using stories with children to cover the ugliness of war.” (RELATED: X Post Misleads On Mutiny In Israeli Air Force)
This claim, however, is false. The video actually shows a Syrian father, not a Palestinian father. Through a reverse image and keyword search, Check Your Fact found that the video was posted to Instagram, though it appears that the video has been deleted. The video was also shared by the Guardian in February 2020. The video’s title reads, “Syrian father teaches daughter to cope with bombs through laughter.”
“In video posted on social media, Abdullah Mohammad and his daughter Salwa, three, can be heard laughing at the sound of shelling in Syria. Mohammad, who moved his family from Idlib to Sarmada district, has tried to insulate his daughter from trauma by telling her the noise of bombs is part of a game. In September 2018, Turkey and Russia agreed to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone in which acts of aggression are prohibited, but since then more than 1,800 civilians have been killed in attacks by the Assad regime and Russian forces,” reads the video description.
Mohammed and his family were able to flee to Turkey in March 2020, according to CBS News. This claim was also debunked by Newsmeter.
