Sheikh Haqqani was a supporter of Afghanistan’s Taliban government and a prominent critic of the jihadist militant group Islamic State Khorasan Province (IS-K); a regional affiliate of IS that operates in Afghanistan and opposes the Taliban’s rule. Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani reportedly died in a suicide bomb blast in Kabul on 11th August 2022. The Islamic State (IS) group, which has previously targeted the cleric, claimed responsibility for the bombing. Twitter user shared a video claiming it to be of suicide attack on Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani.
(Screenshot from Twitter post)
Debunked Source
Video van het moment van de zelfmoordaanslag op Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani. pic.twitter.com/dLLRZp8hi4
— Roy Grinwis (@RoyGrinwis) August 11, 2022
Fact-check
Using AI assisted tools we extracted keyframes of the shared video and performed a reverse image search.
Reverse image search revealed that the video dates back to 27th October 2020 from Peshawar, Pakistan, after an explosive device in a bag detonated inside a madrasa in Peshawar’s Dir Colony. The incident was also reported by local media outlets in Pakistan.
(Screenshot from The Express Tribune website)
Source
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2270073/at-least-eight-killed-125-injured-in-peshawar-madrassa-blast
https://www.infobox247.com/2020/10/Peshawar-blast-latest-update.html
Rating
False Context
Conclusion
Our factcheck confirmed that an old video was shared as recent suicide attack on Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani in Kabul, the old video is shared in false context to mislead the public.
- ABCDE Framework-Based Analysis
Actor | Independent Twitter accounts from Afghanistan are involved in spreading disinformation on social media. |
Behavior | Old video of attack on Rahimullah Haqqani was resurfaced after IS claimed to kill him in Kabul. |
Content | Social Media post. |
Degree | The content is being spread to misinform people; however, the video is not edited or forged. No synthetic means are being used to make the content viral. |
Effect | The old video is being circulated to mislead the public. Many social media users commented that Haqqani deserved it, and it was a good riddance. |