What was claimed
A video of a large fireball and smoke shows the aftermath of a drone attack on the US embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Our verdict
False. The footage predates the attack and has been online since at least 6 February.
Video of blaze doesn’t show aftermath of drone attack on US embassy in Saudi Arabia
A video of a huge fireball being shared with claims it shows the US embassy in Saudi Arabia being attacked predates the outbreak of the latest widespread conflict in the Middle East.
The clip, which has been circulating on Facebook, Instagram and X, shows flames and a large cloud of smoke billowing beyond cars and trucks on a road.
Captions with these posts include “US embassy in Saudi Arabia has been attacked” and “US Embassy in Saudi Arabia struck”.
It’s true that a “limited fire” was reported at the US embassy in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia in the early hours of 3 March following an attack by two drones.
But this is not what this video depicts.
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The same footage has been online since at least 6 February, when it was shared on YouTube without a description, weeks before the latest conflict in the Middle East and the drone attack on the US embassy. The same video was also posted on TikTok on 23 February.
Additionally this footage appears to be of a fire on a major road with no visible foliage, which doesn’t match the real location of the US embassy in Riyadh, which is off a tree-lined road.
Misinformation, especially in the form of miscaptioned images and videos can spread quickly during conflict and crisis events.
We’ve debunked several false claims and faked images since the US and Israel struck Iran on 28 February. It’s important to consider whether what you see online comes from a trustworthy and verifiable source before sharing.
This article is part of our work fact checking potentially false pictures, videos and stories on Facebook. You can read more about this—and find out how to report Facebook content—here. For the purposes of that scheme, we’ve rated this claim as false because this footage predates the drone attack on the US embassy in Saudi Arabia.