Old Videos From Different Places Shared as Recent Visuals From Saudi Arabia

As several countries in the Middle East region have been gripped with heavy downpour, social media platforms have been flooded with multiple clips claiming that they show visuals from the "storm" in Saudi Arabia.

About the claim: One such video, which shows compilation of several clips, is going viral with a caption saying, "Saudi Arabia Storm today."

We received queries about the viral video on our WhatsApp tipline. More archives of similar claims can be found here, here, and here.

What is the truth?: We found that some of the videos in the compilation were old and unrelated to the recent downpour in Saudi Arabia.

• This video showed heavy rainfall and what appeared to be a tornado in the background.

• Using Google Lens search, we found an older version of the same video uploaded on an unverified YouTube channel named 'Surrealvideos'.

• It was published on 31 December 2023 and was titled, "Cuba Hurricane Tornado."

• The second video showed trees violently shaking in front of a yellow building.

• We divided the video into several keyframes and performed a reverse image search, which led us to a longer version of this clip on YouTube.

• It was published on 17 July 2019 and was titled, "Giant Monster Attacks City."

• This video showed trees violently shaking during a heavy rainfall, where some cars were seen on the streets as well.

• Team WebQoof performed a Google Lens search and found the same visuals uploaded on an unverified Instagram handle.

• The video was published on 25 November 2023 and the text identified the location as Dubai.

• This made it clear that the video was old and unrelated to the recent downpour in Saudi Arabia.

• The fourth video showed high waves in front of several buildings.

• When we performed a reverse image search on the keyframes, we were able to trace the video back to November 2023.

• The video was shared on a TikTok account called 'disaster788' and its caption mentioned the location as Dubai.

• The fifth video showed a car toppling over due to heavy wind.

• The same visuals were available on the official YouTube channel of '9 News Australia'.

• It was shared 8 April and reportedly showed cars toppling over due to high winds around Cape Town, South Africa.

• The sixth video showed objects flying across a street due to heavy rainfall and wind.

• We performed a Google Lens search and came across a longer version of the video available on an unverified YouTube channel.

• It was uploaded on 7 August 2023, which proved the video was unrelated to the recent happenings in Saudi Arabia.

• The location was mentioned as Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.

• The seventh video carried visuals of objects flying due to wind, while several people were seen panicking.

• Team WebQoof found a longer version of the clip published on the official YouTube channel of 'al3omk'.

• It was shared on 22 October 2023 and its title when translated to English said, "From the weekly market, Al-Hamra, in Al-Jadida Province."

• This video was a fast-paced time lapse, which showed clouds moving over several buildings.

• On performing a reverse image search, we came across the same visuals uploaded on Sky News' official YouTube channel.

• It was shared on 25 September 2023 and was titled, "Brazil: Timelapse captures massive shelf cloud moving over Caxias do Sul."

The problems with these claims: Even though we could not independently verify the context or location of the videos in some cases, it also raises questions on the use of old visuals during a breaking event.

• This is because there is usually an information vacuum during breaking news event. This often leaves space for mis/disinformation.

• Watch our video below to understand how you can fact-check information during a breaks news situation.

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