Altered video used to make false claim CNN staged Israel-Hamas coverage | Fact check

Nate Trela, USA TODAY
·3 min read
6

The claim: Video shows CNN faking coverage of a rocket attack in Israel

An Oct. 11 post (direct link, archive link) on X, formerly Twitter, shows footage of Clarissa Ward, CNN's chief international correspondent, and her crew lying on the ground while explosions go off in the background. The clip includes audio of an off-camera voice seemingly directing the group on what to do, as though they are actors.

"Now look around Jerry, just Look around as if you're in danger," says the off-camera voice at one point. "Try to look nice and scared. Yeah, that's it. Catching your breath."

The post's caption reads, “DEVELOPING: CNN got caught faking an attack from Hamas in Israel."

The post was shared more than 70 times on Facebook according to CrowdTangle, a social media analytics tool. It was also reposted more than 6,000 times on X.

Fact check roundup: Israel-Hamas war sparks many misleading claims online. Here's what's true and false.

Follow us on Facebook! Like our page to get updates throughout the day on our latest debunks

Our rating: Altered

The video combines authentic footage with an audio track added by a "social commentary" YouTube channel. A CNN spokesperson said the audio was not genuine.

Phony audio added to viral clip

The video uses footage that aired Oct. 9 on CNN, showing Ward and her colleagues near the Israel-Gaza border.

"We have just had a massive barrage of rockets coming in here, not too far from us, so we have had to take shelter here by the roadside," says Ward as she lies on the ground.

No one can be heard directing the group in the original footage.

Emily Kuhn, a CNN spokesperson, said in an email to USA TODAY that the audio of someone directing the journalists is “fabricated, inaccurate and irresponsibly distorts the reality of the moment.”

A longer version of the altered video was first shared by a YouTube account called The Quartering, which describes itself as a “social commentary channel.” Its logo is visible on the video circulating online, and the channel also shared the video on its X account on Oct. 10.

The channel later posted on X to clarify the audio was not authentic, writing, "A few people missed the fact that this is an into (sic) from the longer coverage lol. Yes of course the voice over isn't real but the fake acting IS real."

Fact check: Video miscaptioned to claim Putin warned US against Israel involvement | Fact check

The X user who shared the video on Oct. 11 replied to the initial post later that day acknowledging The Quartering added the audio to the authentic video. However, social media users continue to comment on the earlier post as though it were authentic.

Reuters also debunked the claim.

Our fact-check sources:

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here.

Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: CNN journalist in Israel reacted to authentic rockets | Fact check