The claim: A video shows the Taliban taking over the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan
Hours after former Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country Aug. 15, Taliban fighters moved into Kabul and seized control of the presidential palace.
Footage of a Taliban commander shaking hands with the head of the Presidential Protection Service went viral online. Now, social media users are sharing another video that purportedly shows the Taliban's takeover of Kabul.
The video shows armed men tearing and burning down a flag as they repeatedly shout the Arabic phrase “Allahu Akbar.” Smoke is in the air, and vehicles are seen driving away and honking.
“#Big; #breaking; With the Taliban in control of the Presidential Palace in Kabul and the US Ambassador fleeing to the airport, Taliban have won the war,” reads the caption of an Aug. 15 Facebook video, which gained more than 63,00 shares before it was deleted.
More:'Heartbroken and shattered' Afghan-Americans worry about loved ones in Afghanistan
Other Facebook have shared the same caption and video. But the footage wasn't taken recently – and it is unrelated to the events unfolding in Afghanistan.
The video was filmed in 2015 and shows rebels in Idlib, Syria. The flag in the videos is the Syrian flag.
The Facebook users who shared the claim did not return USA TODAY's requests for comment.
Video is six years old
Independent fact-checking organizations reported the video traces back to March 2015, when the city of Idlib, Syria, fell to rebel groups.
At the time, Syrian rebels surged into Idlib’s city center and ousted government forces. Videos shared to YouTube showed rebels moving through the city’s police headquarters and trampling portraits of President Bashar al-Assad after days of fighting, the Washington Post reported.
The video circulating on social media was first posted to YouTube on March 28, 2015, with the title, “Binish City Coordination documents the first moments of the liberation of Hanano Square.”
Al Jazeera included scenes from the video in a March 2015 article about the conflict in Idlib. It was shared again in 2019 by Arabic news channel Orient TV with the headline, “Unforgettable moments from the history of the Syrian revolution, the liberation of Idlib.”
Footage of the Taliban taking over Afghanistan’s presidential palace// on Aug. 15, shared by Al Jazeera, shows armed men taking photos, celebrating and removing the flag of Afghanistan from the wall.
Our rating: False
The claim that a video shows the Taliban taking over the presidential palace in Afghanistan is FALSE, based on our research. The video dates back to March 2015 and shows Syrian rebels in Idlib, not Taliban fighters in Kabul.
Our fact check sources:
- The Quint, Aug. 16, No, This Video Doesn't Show Taliban 'Takikng Over Presidential Palace in Kabul'
- The Washington Post, March 28, 2015, Syrian rebels take strategic town of Idlib
- YouTube, March 28, 2015, Binish City Coordination documents the first moments of the liberation of Hanano Square
- Al Jazeera, March 29, 2015, Syrian rebels capture Idlib city in joint offensive
- Orient TV, March 29, 2019, Unforgettable moments from the history of the Syrian revolution, the liberation of Idlib
- Al Jazeera, Aug. 16, Exclusive: Taliban enters Afghan presidential palace I Al Jazeera Newsfeed
- Getty Images, March 9, 2020, Afghanistan-Politics-Inauguration
- Reuters, Aug. 16, Al Jazeera footage shows Taliban in Kabul's presidential palace
- Britannica, accessed Aug. 17, Flag of Afghanistan
- Britannica, accessed Aug. 17, Flag of Syria
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Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.
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