FACT CHECK: Video Claims To Show Chinese Communist Party Destroying Mosque
A video shared on X claims to show the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) destroying a mosque belonging to Uyghur Muslims.
The Chinese government destroyed another mosque.
The Chinese Communist Party has been focusing on mosques as part of its crackdown against the Muslim Uyghurs. pic.twitter.com/aGmsUUpwij
— 🔥⭐️Edwin⭐️🔥 (@Nuked4Every1) February 7, 2024
Verdict: False
The video is from Turkey. It does not show the destruction of a Muslim Uyghur mosque.
Fact Check:
A Chinese official who has denied that China is committing genocide against the Uyghurs toured U.S. universities, according to Fox News.
Social media users are sharing a video of a bulldozer hitting a mosque, claiming the destruction was caused by the CCP. One user wrote, “The Chinese government destroyed another mosque. The Chinese Communist Party has been focusing on mosques as part of its crackdown against the Muslim Uyghurs.”
This claim, though, is false. Through a reverse image search, Check Your Fact found that the video is from February 2023 and was taken in Turkey. The video was shared to X by Aykiri, a Turkish news outlet.
Deprem sonrası hasar gören minare için “Kontrollü yıkım” girişiminde bulunuldu. Yıkımı yöneten görevli yaralandı.
— Aykırı (@aykiricomtr) February 26, 2023
“A ‘controlled demolition’ attempt was made for the minaret damaged after the earthquake. The officer who supervised the demolition was injured,” the tweet reads.
BBC Verify reporter Shayan Sardarizadeh also debunked the claim in a Feb. 6 tweet. (RELATED: Houthi Rebels Claim To Hit U.S. Warship In Red Sea)
“This video is being shared with claims it shows the Chinese government destroy a mosque belonging to Uyghur Muslims without ‘a word of criticism from Arab leaders’. In fact, the footage shows the controlled demolition of a damaged minaret in Turkey after the 2023 earthquake,” Sardarizadeh tweeted.
