This Video of Illegal Immigrants Escaping Was Shot in Algeria, Not in Germany
The Claim
A video shows African immigrants who were being deported from Germany breaking the windows and escaping from the bus that was taking them to the airport for deportation.
News posted on
Emerging story
Social media users circulated a video clip purporting to show African immigrants who were being deported from Germany breaking the windows and escaping from the bus that was taking them to the airport for deportation.
One user expressed concern by tweeting, "If this is true then we are stuffed as Africans. With all our resources here, Amana? 'Ghanaians in Germany jumping from the bus which was transporting them to the airport for deportation.'"
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the widely circulated video and found the claim to be misleading.
Following an extensive reverse image search, Misbar's team discovered that the circulating video was actually older than stated and was not filmed in Germany.
The Video of Illegal Immigrants Escaping Was Shot in Algeria
Contrary to the claim, the video shows a mass escape of illegal immigrants from the Sahel and Sahara regions, who managed to flee through the bus’s window transporting them before their deportation from Algeria to their countries.
RT, a renowned media outlet, uploaded the video to a published article covering the incident on July 3, 2023.
Social media pages, mainly Arabic pages, also shared the video, which displays undocumented immigrants from the Sahel and Sahara regions escaping from the bus before they were to be deported to their countries.
Illegal Immigrants Flee Before Deportation from Algeria
The video clip features several migrants consecutively jumping out of the bus window in the middle of a road, slipping between cars, and vanishing from sight. This act served as a refusal to undergo the deportation process and return to their home countries, as they aimed to stay in Algeria either for employment and settlement or to attempt reaching Europe.
Each year, thousands of immigrants from the African Sahel and sub-Saharan regions flock to Algeria, crossing the desert to reach the southern cities before moving northward. Some intend to make the journey to European coasts, while others seek to remain in Algeria with the assistance of smuggling networks to cross to the other side of the Mediterranean.
German Population Hits Record High in 2022 Due to Migration
In 2022, Germany's population reached a record high of 84.3 million people, following a period of stagnation, as Ukrainian refugees sought refuge from the war.
The federal statistics office reported an increase of 1.1 million people living in Germany compared to the previous year. Immigrants played a significant role in offsetting the effects of a low birth rate and an aging population.
During the first half of the year, the arrival of Ukrainians contributed to a population surge of 740,000, comparable to the peak of the earlier refugee crisis in 2015, when Germany added 756,000 new residents due to violence in Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
Read More
Lebanon Asylum Seeker Boat Tragedy Sparks Misinformation Online
Outdated Photos Resurfaced in Relation to the Recent Capsized Boat Tragedy
