Misleading Videos Shared as Recent Jordan Sandstorm
The Claim
Videos claiming to show recent sandstorm in Jordan.
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Emerging story
Several videos purporting to show the recent sandstorms in Jordan are making the rounds on social media. The videos, according to users, depict a sandstorm that hit Jordan's Queen Alia International Airport on Sunday, April 24.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the viral videos and discovered that they were all outdated and misleading. As the clips making the rounds are unrelated to Jordan's recent sandstorm.
Misleading Videos Recirculating
The first video investigated was found to be old and had previously been published on YouTube on May 6, 2020. The video depicts a sandstorm that hit Saudi Arabia's eastern Tabarjal Governorate, as seen below.
On May 6, 2020, a sandstorm swept through the Tabarjal Governorate in the al-Jawf region, according to Saudi news sources. Following the General Authority for Meteorology and Environmental Protection's warnings of strong winds and sandstorms in Al-Jawf, the northern borders, Makkah, Madinah, Riyadh, Qassim, Tabuk, Al-Jawf, and Hail.
Furthermore, the video was previously shared in March 2021 as a sandstorm in Arar, prompting the official Twitter account of Saudi Arabia's Emirate of the Northern Borders region to correct the misinformation. As seen below, they tweeted that "the video being circulated of a dust storm in the city of Arar, in the Northern Border region, is incorrect and dates back to an earlier time in one of the Kingdom's regions."
This confirms that the footage was filmed in Saudi Arabia rather than Jordan.
Our investigation revealed there are two other videos circulating are unrelated to the recent sandstorm in Jordan. The videos depict a sandstorm that hit Jordan on August 2, 2015, and the Royal Jordanian Airlines diverted flights to King Hussein Airport in the Aqaba Governorate at the time due to lack of visibility and bad weather.
Sandstorm in Jordan
The Arabia Weather website reported that its satellites observed the formation of a massive sandstorm over Jordan's eastern regions on Saturday evening, April 23. The sandstorm had an impact on most Jordanian cities and governorates, resulting in a significant reduction in visibility. The storm also affected Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, according to the report. As a result of the sandstorm, Jordan issued warnings and closed schools in several regions.
Translated by Dina Faisal
