Recently, in protest of Israel’s ongoing illegal blockade of Gaza, the Global Sumud Flotilla, a naval initiative by international human rights activists to deliver aid, began its journey from Barcelona, Spain, on August 31. Subsequently, between September 13 and 15, more vessels carrying aid joined the fleet from Tunisia, the Italian island of Sicily, and the Greek island of Syros. In this context, a video has recently been circulated on social media claiming to show a scene from the flotilla.
See the videos circulated on Facebook: here, here, here, and here.
See the videos circulated on Instagram: here and here.
See the video circulated on X: here.
See the videos circulated on YouTube: here, here, and here.
See the video circulated on TikTok: here.
Fact-check
An investigation by the Rumor Scanner team found that the video in question is not of the Global Sumud Flotilla; rather, a video of fishermen setting out to sea during the fishing season from various ports in South China has been circulated with the said claim.
An investigation into this matter found a video published on the Facebook page Real Time China on September 5. This 49-second long video matches the scenes in the video circulated with the claim.
The caption of this video, published in Chinese, claims that it shows summer fishing vessels in China’s Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea.
Additionally, another video was found on the YouTube channel of 广州广播电视台 (Guangzhou Radio and Television Station), published on August 21. The caption of this video states that after the fishing ban in the South China Sea ended on August 16, fishermen set sail from the Zhapo fishing port in Yangjiang. This event is being promoted on social media with the headline, “The seafood freedom of Guangdong people has returned.”
A live-streamed video of this event, broadcast on the said date, i.e., August 16, was found on the YouTube channel of the Chinese state media CGTN.
The detailed description of the video explains that after a three-and-a-half-month summer fishing ban ended, fishermen in key ports of China’s Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, and Hainan provinces began their journey to the sea for the new fishing season, which highlights the local seafood and the traditions of the fishermen.
Therefore, it can be stated with certainty that this video has no connection with the recent naval initiative, the Global Sumud Flotilla.
Thus, a video showing fishermen setting sail from various ports in South China during the fishing season has been circulated with the claim of being a video of the Global Sumud Flotilla; which is false.
Sources
- Real Time China: Facebook Video
- 广州广播电视台 (Guangzhou Radio and Television Station): Youtube Video
- China Global Television Network – CGTN: Youtube Video
