A post featuring a video showing a woman’s face with injuries (appearing to be burn injuries) is being widely shared across social media platforms with the claim that she is a victim of Israel’s phosphorus bomb attack during their recent attacks on Palestine. This article aims to fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: The video depicts a woman who has suffered facial injuries due to Israel’s phosphorus bomb attacks on Palestine.
Fact: The woman in the video is Shaima, she is from Fes, a city in Morocco, and she is suffering from a rare genetic skin disease called Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP). She is not a victim of Israel’s phosphorus bomb attack on Palestine. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Upon close examination of the viral video, it becomes apparent that the woman in the video is smiling and not expressing pain. We also noticed a watermark of an Instagram account “@airisputr8”. We then found the viral video was shared by this account on 09 February 2024. The Instagram post, however, did not provide any information about the video or the woman featured in it. Upon checking the comments, we found that one user mentioned that the woman is Moroccan, suffering from a genetic disease, and the video showcases the logo of a Moroccan charity organization called Moon voice.
Drawing a clue from this, we found that the viral video was originally shared by Ahmed Zainoun on Instagram on 05 February 2024, in collaboration with Moon Voice Association. While sharing the video, Ahmed Zainoun, the founder, and President of the Moon Voice Association, wrote, “How can we resist the pain of these children? How can we abandon when we are their hope? How can we hide while the disease is ravaging their bodies? We promised ourselves to fight for them, and here we are, walking on the promise and fulfilling it.”.
Moon Voice Association is a Moroccan organization that helps children and adults with Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP). XP is a rare genetic disorder characterized by extreme sensitivity to ultraviolet radiation, both from sunlight and certain artificial lighting. The condition primarily affects the eyes and areas of the skin exposed to the sun, leading to premature aging and blindness. Individuals with XP are at a higher risk of developing multiple skin cancers throughout their lives. Due to the necessity for those with XP to avoid sunlight and UV rays, they are sometimes referred to as ‘children of the moon.’ Moon Voice Association offers support and protective measures for individuals in Morocco affected by XP, including the provision of UV-filtering masks.
Subsequently, we also found that both accounts had shared several videos (here & here) of children suffering from this skin disease, along with more videos of the woman in the viral video. According to the caption of one such post, the woman is Shaima, from Fes, a city in Morocco. From all this information, it is evident that the viral video depicts a woman suffering from Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP), a rare genetic disorder.
To sum it up, a video depicting a woman with a genetic disorder is being falsely peddled as a video showing a victim of Israel’s phosphorus bomb.
