A video of a class teaching Muslims how to prepare bodies for burial at a Malaysian mosque last August, has been used by pro-Israel social media users to allege that Palestinians are faking their deaths to inflate the death toll in beseiged Gaza.
The video was posted today on the satirical X (Twitter) account 'The Mossad: Satirical, Yet Awesome' with the tongue-in-cheek caption: “We're happy to report his condition has been upgraded to alive”.
It shows an alleged shrouded body blinking, indicating he is alive.
Although usually a satire account, the administrators of 'The Mossad: Satirical' said the account is "forgoing the satire to share real, up-to-date information" in support of Israel in the current 'Swords of Iron' operation by the Israeli Defence Force, which started on Oct 7.
The video has since been amplified by pro-Israeli social media users to cast doubt on the reported death toll in Gaza which local health authorities say has reached more than 9,700 people, including more than 4,700 children since Oct 7.
The video posted on X showed that it was taken from the Instagram account Akbardarjaham3, which yesterday posted it with Arabic captions and an Arabic song in the background.
However, checks found the same video has been in circulation at least since August.
Class at a mosque in Pekan
On Aug 19, TikTok user metjetak17 posted the same video without the Arabic captions and with an upbeat song.
Comments made days after it was posted indicated that it was captured at Majid Institut Kemahiran Mara Tan Sri Yahya Ahmad in Pekan, Pahang.
Malaysiakini's checks found this to be credible as the wall tiles and carpet in the video match that of the mosque in Pahang.
Since the videos went viral within pro-Israel social media circles, Malaysian netizens have been quick to respond to say that the video was captured in Malaysia.
The video on X now also carries a "community note" which indicates that it is unrelated to the violence in Gaza.
Community notes are user-generated notes to provide more context to posts, a measure rolled out by X to combat misinformation.
The video from Pahang is circulated as Israel continues to cast doubts over the death toll of Palestinians in Gaza, issued by the Gaza Health Ministry.
Pushback on IDF's photo of 'Hamas tunnel shaft' at hospital
Meanwhile, pro-Palestinian individuals are accusing the Israel Defence Force (IDF) of putting out false information, claiming there is a Hamas tunnel shaft at the Qatari-funded Sheikh Hamad Hospital in Gaza.
The IDF showed aerial images of the alleged Hamas tunnel shaft amid increasing international pressure against Israel's bombardment of civilians and civilian buildings, Reuters reported.
However, Muhammad Shaheda, the chief communications officer of Geneva-based Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said the opening actually leads to an underground fuel storage room, which has been in existence since the hospital opened in 2017.
"In all publicly available pictures of the Hamad hospital, that same shaft appears at the side entrance.
"A Hamas tunnel would be hidden underground, not put in the open for all to see!" he said, attaching photos from publicity shoots of the Hamad Hospital, which showed the shaft in the background.
Malaysiakini's checks found publicity photos from Qatar Development Fund, captured at the hospital in 2020, does show the alleged shaft in the background, but whether it leads to a fuel storage system or a Hammas tunnel cannot be independently verified.
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