This Photo Was Taken in Iraq, Not Yugoslavia
The Claim
The picture depicts the illegal and unprovoked US-led NATO aggression against the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia that lasted 78 days on March 24, 1999.
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Emerging story
The Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the OSCE has tweeted an image on their official Twitter page on March 24, 2022, claiming that it depicts the “illegal and unprovoked” US-led NATO aggression against the thenFederal Republic of Yugoslavia that lasted 78 days on March 24, 1999.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar has investigated the claim and found it to be misleading. The image is old and was captured in Baghdad.
Using Google Image Reverse Search, our team discovered that Getty Images uploaded the picture on March 21, 2003, with a caption reading: “Fires burn-in and around Saddam Hussein's Council of Ministers during the first wave of attacks in the shock and awe phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom.” The image's details confirmed that it was captured in Baghdad, Iraq.
Based on our investigation, Misbar's team confirms that this image is from Iraq, and has no relation to Yugoslavia. Our team has already discovered many old videos and pictures from Iraq recently recirculated in relation to Ukraine. We also debunked many rumors circulated by official Russian Twitter accounts during the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
