Does a viral video show an attack, fire or explosion in Tel Aviv, Israel? No, that's not true: The video actually shows a fire in a parking lot for motorcycles in Chongqing, China. Several social media posts falsely claimed the footage showed the result of an Iranian attack on Israel.
An example of such a false attribution can be seen in this X post (archived here) published on June 17, 2025 with a caption that read:
‼️🚨⚡️ An Iranian attack like Tel Aviv has never seen before.
This is what the video looked like:
In the comments below the post the X-affiliated AI-powered account Grok seemed to (falsely) concur with that assessment, writing (archived here):
@gyuridotsol @SilentlySirs The scene in the video reflects the intense conflict in Tel Aviv from Iranian missile attacks on June 17, 2025, causing fires and chaos. It's a devastating moment in the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict, with both sides reporting significant casualties. Iran claims self-defense; Israel cites preemptive strikes against nuclear threats. The term "Hell" captures the human toll, but the situation is complex, with no easy answers. International calls for de-escalation continue, yet tensions remain high.
However on June 12 the BBC reported about a fire at a motorcycle parking lot in Chongqing, China (archived here):
A large fire broke out at a motorcycle parking lot in Chongqing, southwest China on Wednesday. Footage shows flames and thick smoke billowing into the sky, as bystanders watch the blaze erupt. The fire was extinguished within 20 minutes and no casualties were reported, according to the local fire department.
Footage included in that report included several visual elements that matched the viral video, proving the fire happened in China, not in Tel Aviv.
(Image: collage made by Lead Stories)
