FACT CHECK: Did Saudi Arabia Host Diwali Celebrations? Here’s the Truth About This Fireworks Video

ByFactcheck India

November 4, 2024 #Diwali celebrations Saudi Arabia, #Diwali viral video fact check, #Fact Check India, #FactCheck India Team, #Factcheck_in, #FactCheckIndia, #Fake news, #fakecheck, #India, #misinformation, #Saudi Arabia fireworks video, #Saudi National Day fireworks, #social media,#TruthXIndia

A fireworks display near a brightly lit building, falsely claimed to show Diwali celebrations in Saudi Arabia in 2024. The viral clip, actually showing Saudi National Day or Expo 2030 celebrations, was misrepresented as a Diwali event.

Claim

A video circulating online claims to show Diwali celebrations in Saudi Arabia in 2024, complete with a fireworks display. Social media posts have widely shared the clip, with captions suggesting it depicts Saudi Arabia honoring Diwali.

Fact Check

The FactCheck India Team investigated this viral video and found that it does not depict Diwali celebrations in Saudi Arabia in 2024. Instead, this video is from an entirely different occasion and predates this year’s Diwali.

Our Investigation

To verify the origin of the video, we conducted a reverse search of keyframes from the footage. The search led to multiple posts on Facebook and Instagram featuring the same video. A Facebook page, “Pak Qatar Community,” posted the clip on September 23, 2024, with a caption identifying it as a tribute to Saudi Arabia’s 94th National Day.

This revelation confirmed that the video was shared well before Diwali, which took place on October 31 and November 1, 2024. Other social media posts and YouTube channels also shared the video, attributing it to Saudi Arabia’s National Day celebrations rather than any Diwali festivities.

What Is Saudi Arabia’s National Day?

Saudi Arabia celebrates its National Day on September 23 each year to commemorate the unification of the Kingdom under King Abdulaziz Al Saud in 1932. The day is marked with public festivities, fireworks, and national pride events across the country.

Interestingly, during our investigation, we found that this particular fireworks video was not even from Saudi National Day 2024. An earlier instance of this clip was posted on August 27 with the caption “Welcome to Dubai,” making it unlikely that the video was from Saudi Arabia’s National Day celebrations in 2024.

Further Findings

Using additional Arabic keywords, we identified a similar fireworks video on the Royal Commission’s official YouTube channel from November 29, 2023, celebrating Riyadh’s hosting of Expo 2030. The visuals around the 3-minute mark in this video closely match the viral footage, including a multi-story building illuminated in green lights.

Conclusion

While we couldn’t verify the exact origin date of the viral clip, evidence suggests it likely dates back to November 2023. It is not connected to Diwali celebrations in Saudi Arabia in 2024, as claimed in the viral posts.