Fact-Check: Video Shows a Burning Building in UAE, Not France

The video is from a fire accident that took place on 27 June in Ajman, UAE

The video is from a fire accident in Ajman, UAE. 

(Source: Altered by The Quint)

A video showing the burning of a tower is going viral as one from France, in light of the recent protests following the death of a 17-year-old teenager allegedly at the hands of the police in the country.

What are the users saying?: The claim read that rioters belonging to the Muslim community looted shops and torched buildings. It compared the burning tower to the 9/11 attacks in the United States of America (USA).

An archive of the claim can be found here. 

(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)

(Archives of similar claims can be found here and here.)

What is the truth?: The video is from Ajman, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and not from France.

• The incident occurred in the early hours of 27 June.

• According to news reports, Tower O2 in Ajman One Towers had caught fire.

How did we find out?: We extracted the keyframes of the video using InVID and thereafter, ran a reverse Google image search.

• We came across news reports from Gulf News and Khaleej Times that described the fire accident in Ajman, UAE.

• According to Khaleej Times, the incident took place in the "wee hours of Tuesday" that is, 27 June.

• The news report also included a post by the Ajman Police. It was the video that matched the frames of the viral video.

• The Gulf News report stated that the Commander-in-Chief of the Ajman Police said, "Five people sustained minor injuries and they were treated at the site. A pregnant woman was rushed to Shaikh Khalifa Hospital as she suffered from dyspnea."

The comparison between the viral video and the Ajman Police Video showed similarities. 

(Source: Gulf News/Screenshot) 

France Protests 2023: Protests broke out in France after the death of Nahel, a 17-year-old teenager who was allegedly killed at the hands of the police for driving a car without a license.

• The protestors have been clashing with the police, burning and dismantling public property and cars.

• The French police have made multiple arrests.

• President Emmanuel Macron has expressed his solidarity against the death of the teenager and condemned the harm to public property.

Conclusion: The video is being falsely shared as one from France when it actually shows the burning of a residential tower in Ajman, UAE.

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