A video showing a massive crowd gathered on the streets is circulating on social media platforms with a false claim that it shows terrified Israelis gathering in Tel Aviv after the country was attacked by Iran.
BOOM found that the video is from Argentina; we were able to geolocate the area outside a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Google Maps.
Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles targeting Israel on April 13, 2024, in response to an Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Syria's Damascus on April 1. President Joe Biden of the United States also condemned the 'unprecedented' attack and stated that the US helped Israel in intercepting nearly all of the missiles and drones aimed at the country.
Amid the heightened tension between Iran and Israel, the video of people running around, as a huge crowd remains huddled up, is being shared with a caption, "Tel Aviv - Footage Reportedly of Israelis Panicking in Tel Aviv After Iran Attacks on Israel".
Click here to view an archive of the post.
Several users on Threads also shared the video with a similar false claim.
Click here to view an archive of one such Threads post.
Fact Check
BOOM went through the comments on posts sharing the same video and found several X users who stated that the footage shows singer-songwriter Louis Tomlinson fans outside his hotel in Argentina last week.
We also found a response from an X user who claimed to have been present at the scene and shared a video of a crowd gathering to catch a glimpse of Louis Tomlinson near the Four Seasons Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
Following the lead, we ran a keyword search to find related news reports and came across an article published by the Argentinian news outlet Infobae on April 6, 2024. The report mentioned that the ex-member of the band One Direction stayed at the Four Seasons hotel during his tour in Argentina and interacted with fans in the vicinity of the hotel.
One such video of Tomlinson interacting with fans in Buenos Aires, Argentina was also posted by the official X account of the musician's team.
Click here to view the post.
We geolocated the area and were able confirm that the video was indeed captured outside the Four Seasons hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Below, one can observe the comparison between the scenes shown in the viral video and the exterior of the Four Seasons hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Google Street View.
BOOM however was not able to independently verify the exact date when the video was captured.