A video showing millions of cockroaches has gone viral on social media, claiming that cockroaches have recently plagued the Grand Mosque in Mecca, an ancient city in Saudi Arabia.
The video is shared on Facebook with a caption: “Today in Mecca, a flood fell on the tomb of Muhammad on the millions of people who came to celebrate Ramadan. A minute after the rain stopped, millions of cockroaches came out from under the ground, so the prayer was stopped and everyone ran away.”
Here’s the link to the above post.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the above claim, and found it to be MISLEADING.
We could not find any recent credible media report that corroborated the viral claim. The Saudi media, Saudi government, and management of the Mecca Masjid also did not report any news or information on the recent cockroach attack. Had such an incident happened, mainstream media would have definitely covered it.
Performing a Reverse Image Search, we spotted a YouTube video — published four years ago — carrying a similar video with a caption: “Locusts Plague Mecca Grand Mosque.”
Searching further, we found a news report by Express UK, dated on January 12, 2019, saying: “A massive swarm of locusts has plagued Mecca this week, as officials struggle to remove the infestation at Islam’s holiest site. Shocking footage posted on social media showed how the locust swarms covered the Great Mosque in Saudi Arabia. The Makkah Municipality confirmed the phenomenon which, residents claim, has never been seen before.”
We also found a tweet dated January 8, 2019, by Makkah Municipality. It included images of the Great Mosque of Mecca being cleared of locusts.
معالي أمين العاصمة المقدسة
م . محمد القويحص
يوجه فرق الإصحاح البيئي التابعة
لـ #امانة_العاصمة_المقدسة بالعمل في أعمال مكافحة
(حشرة الجنادب السوداء )
على مدار الساعة وفِي جميع أنحاء مكة المكرمة حتى يتم التخلص والقضاء عليها إن شاء الله •#مكة_المكرمة#العاصمة_المقدسة pic.twitter.com/h5BHb9HcHP— أمانة العاصمة المقدسة (@holymakkah) January 7, 2019
Although we could not ascertain the exact time of the viral video, it is evident from the news reports the viral video is not of any recent cockroach attack in Mecca.
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