Update 20.10.2023: A video showing the same inscription on a New York building was added to the material. “Myth Detector” cannot rule out that the inscription was projected to the building for a certain period of time, although the verdict of the material remains unchanged because no banner was placed on the building.
On October 18, Facebook users supporting the pro-Kremlin “Conservative Movement” (1, 2, 3) published a photo of an English-language banner with the following inscription: “Israel Bombs Hospitals; Biden Pays For It.” According to the description, the banner is placed in New York.
An identical photo was shared by Russian-language Facebook users (1, 2, 3) and the online publication Деловой Петербурс.
The photo disseminated on social media is likely to be altered and it was not placed in Manhattan, New York, which is confirmed by the following signs:
- No similar banner can be found on the photo and video materials taken on October 18, 2023;
- The building on which the billboard was supposed to be placed was built in 2019, and no advertising or other types of billboards have been placed on it since that time.
The photo circulating social networks showing a billboard in New York was taken at night. The photo shows a yellow taxi and several buildings, including the famous skyscraper, the Empire State Building. In addition, the street sign and the inscription Eighth Ave are visible in the photo.
Although the exact location of the billboard is not indicated in the post, the details marked in the photo allow us to find out, using geolocation tools, in which part of Manhattan the banner could have been placed.
First, we look for the Empire State Building in Google Maps, which, according to the details indicated in the photo spread on the social network, was captured from Eighth Avenue. The view of the skyscraper from the streets on Eighth Avenue, as seen in the photo circulating on social media, should be possible from 33rd or 34th Street, according to the map.
As a result of looking at the “street view” of the areas around 33rd and 34th streets, it was possible to find the place where the billboard should be placed. The building is located on Manhattan’s Eighth Avenue between 34th and 35th Streets and houses various facilities (UHO Construction Corporation, Carlo Security & Transportation Services).
The most recent street view showing this building is dated August 2022. As it turns out from the images uploaded to Google Maps, the construction of the facility was in progress in 2019, and before that, there were other buildings on the site.
It should also be noted that in the “street views” taken in 2022, as well as in previous years, we do not see advertising or other types of banners placed on the building.
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August, 2022 |
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The most recent video to be found on YouTube, which shows the intersection of 31st and 33rd Street on Eighth Avenue and the building where the banner is to be placed, was uploaded on October 15, 2022.
A photo depicting the banner was also shared by users of X (former Twitter). One of the first among them was @sahouraxo, who published a post on the morning of October 18. According to the information posted on X, the user is an “independent, Lebanese geopolitical commentator.” In the comments of the post, one of X users, who is a licensed real estate agent from New York, wrote that he would take a photo on Eighth Avenue the next day.
Since Huaisi Cen was also interested in finding out the truth, “Myth Detector” contacted him on “Instagram” and asked him to take photos on Eighth Avenue. Huaisi Cen provided us with photos and a video taken on the evening of October 18 and the morning of October 19 (Georgia time). From the video and photo material taken on Eighth Avenue and 34th Street, it becomes clear that the banner is not placed anywhere in this area.
On October 17, hundreds of people were killed in the explosion at the al-Ahli Arab Hospital in the Gaza Strip. Israel claims that the explosion in the hospital in Gaza was caused by a rocket launched unsuccessfully by the “Islamic Jihad” group. Islamic Jihad, a Hamas ally, denied any connection to the blast and said the group had not carried out any activity in Gaza during that period.
On October 17, hundreds of people were killed in the explosion at the al-Ahli Arab Hospital in the Gaza Strip. Israel claims that the explosion in the hospital in Gaza was caused by a rocket launched unsuccessfully by the “Islamic Jihad” group. Islamic Jihad, a Hamas ally, denied any connection to the blast and said the group had not carried out any activity in Gaza during that period.
Update: It should be noted that on October 18, a video was released, in which the inscription “Israel Bombs Hospitals; Biden Pays For It” can be seen on the building. It is true that a banner or a poster was not placed on the building after the information about the bombing of the hospital in the Gaza Strip, however, “Myth Detector” cannot rule out that the text was projected on the building for a short period of time. In addition, it should be said that the practice of altering videos is also widespread, which was the case in August 2023 in Japan with the banner “Stop Zelensky, Stop War”, and in October 2023 in New York with the banner “Glory to Urine.” The video of the above banners was altered and they were not actually placed in New York or Tokyo. For more information, see the “Myth Detector” materials
- Was the Banner “Stop Zelenskyy, Stop War” Placed in Japan?
- Was the Glory to Urine Billboard with Ukrainian Flag Colors Placed in New York?
- Was the Banner “NO ZELENSKY NO WAR” Placed in New York?
About the Sources
Facebook users Amirani Pruidze, Ru sa, Nini Nini are supporters of the pro-Kremlin “Conservative Movement” and systematically broadcast the programs of the pro-Kremlin television, “Alt-Info”. Amirani Fruidze’s cover photo used to have the logo of the conservative movement, but now it has a photo of the host of the “Alt-Info” program. “Myth Detector” has debunked the false information spread by this user many times in the past.
Facebook user Ru Sa, who has the logo of the “Conservative Movement” as its profile picture, systematically spreads anti-Western and anti-Ukrainian content. The information spread by the user has been labeled as false by fact-checking organizations.
The Facebook account Nini Nini is allegedly one of the five (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) profiles of Nini Khundadze, a supporter of the “Conservative Movement”. Nini Khundadze publishes posts containing anti-Western content from several accounts. The disinformation spread by the user has been debunked by “Myth Detector” many times in the past.
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