What was claimed
A video of objects being thrown at police vehicles depicts scenes in Belfast following a knife attack.
Our verdict
False. Although there are many genuine videos of the disorder this week, this video predates it. It shows an unrelated incident on 4 May.
A video being shared with claims it depicts recent violent scenes in Belfast is actually footage of an older, unrelated event in the city.
The clip has been circulating widely on social media since the outbreak of unrest which began following a knife attack in north Belfast on Monday night. The victim, who has been named as Stephen Ogilvy, remains in hospital while another man, Hadi Alodid, has been charged with attempted murder in relation to the incident, alongside a number of other offences.
In the footage being shared, Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) vehicles can be seen moving down a road while objects are thrown at them by people nearby. Captions also link it to the recent disorder, with some saying “Belfast right now”.
But while there are many genuine videos of the disorder which took place on Tuesday night in reaction to the knife attack, this particular clip is not one of them.
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Full Fact found a higher quality, longer version of the clip was posted on TikTok on 5 May, more than a month before the current unrest in Belfast.
It matches similar videos filmed at the same location of an incident where PSNI vehicles were attacked following a car meet-up event on Stewartstown Road in west Belfast on 4 May.
Misinformation can spread quickly during times of crisis, so it’s important to consider whether something you see online comes from a verifiable and trustworthy source before sharing. Our Full Fact toolkit contains guides and tips to help you do this.
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 clip is not of recent violent scenes in Belfast after a knife attack, but of unrelated disorder that took place in May.
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