FACT CHECK: “VIDEO SHOW OLIVE TREES UPROOTED IN SYRIA TO BE BROUGHT TO TURKEY”

Mon 30 December 2024:

On social media sites, mainly X (previously Twitter), a video allegedly showing the moments when several olive trees in Syria were uprooted and transported by trucks.

BACKGROUND AND ALLEGATIONS

An X user named Fares Shehabi, who has over 50 thousand followers, posted a video that shows the moments when olive trees are uprooted and loaded onto trucks.

The individual who posted the video stated in the information note that “the Syrian opposition sent the valuable olive trees they uprooted in Aleppo to Turkey.” This post had over 150 thousand views and was shared dozens of times.

BACKGROUND AND CLAIMS

The Anadolu Agency’s Confirmation Line looked into the origins of the reported video. It was discovered that the information provided by user X, who shared the post, was not accurate.

When screenshots from multiple angles were examined using Google and Yandex Images, it was discovered that the same image had previously been served with similar sentiments (October 31, 2020).

Zeytin ağaçlarının Afrin’den Hatay’a taşındığı bu görüntüyle iddia ediliyor. @bekirpakdemirli @TCTarim bu doğru mudur? pic.twitter.com/wmgsU4TPxi

— Nusrettin Maçin (@nusrettin_macin) October 31, 2020

It was also seen that another X user used this video on September 30, 2023 and shared the phrases “Watch how the United Arab Emirates destroys natural resources on Yemen’s Socotra Island” with his followers.

شاهد كيف تقوم الامارات بنهب ثروات جزيرة سقطرى اليمنية وتجريف الثروات الطبيعية النادرة فيها ..! pic.twitter.com/EaIp8XNz3L

— بلقيس الحريزي (@x_blq_h_) September 30, 2023

In the investigation, it was determined that the video in question was recorded in Saudi Arabia, not in Syria or Yemen.

It was understood that the video was published on the account of Abdullah Al-Misnad, a climate professor at the Department of Geography at Qassim University, on October 28, 2020. In his post, Al-Misnad stated that the video showed a tree transplant operation in Saudi Arabia.

الغيورون على الوطن وعلى بيئته
أقول: صوتكم مؤثر ولو بعد حين،

كانت المشاهد والتجارب لنقل الأشجار في دول متقدمة تعرضونها هنا، والآن باتت في أرضنا تصور، ومشاريع خضراء تسابق الزمن لتعوض ما فات من سنين وعقود آليته كانت: ازرع ثم اقطع .. والله المستعان. #الرياض_الخضراء 👍 pic.twitter.com/GrF8MnP5d8

— أ.د. عبدالله ‌المسند (@ALMISNID) October 28, 2020

It was discovered that RT Arabic published the information that the video was recorded in Saudi Arabia in its news coverage when the allegations surfaced in 2020.