Video of U.S. Prison Break Shared as Rape of an Indian Woman in Israel
A video claiming that an Indian woman was gang-raped while visiting Israel has been circulating on Facebook. However, a fact-check by Dismislab found that the footage actually shows 10 prisoners escaping from the Orleans Justice Center in New Orleans, United States.
The video, which spread on Facebook on August 10, had text inside saying, “An Indian woman was gang-raped in Israel while traveling.” The post’s caption read, “They ran away after sensing the police presence. So far, three have been arrested.” The video has been viewed nearly 1 million times.
The top-left corner of the video shows the Al Jazeera logo, and below it appears the Arabic word “Live.” Dismislab translated the Arabic text seen in the video. According to the translation, it reports that 10 “dangerous” prisoners escaped from a prison in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, and that the footage was captured by a surveillance camera. Within a few hours, police arrested three of them, while a search operation was underway for the remaining seven.
Details in the video shows a prison in New Orleans, Louisiana. The top-right corner of the footage also identifies the location in Arabic as “Louisiana, United States.” In a later part of the video, a police helicopter with “Louisiana” written on it can also be seen.
The video shows photos and names of three arrested prisoners — Kendall Miles, Robert Moody, and Kenan Dennis. Several of the escaping inmates are seen wearing orange clothing, matching the uniforms used by prisoners at the New Orleans facility.
A reverse image search by Dismislab found multiple news reports (1, 2, 3, 4) about the same incident — 10 inmates escaping from a prison in New Orleans, Louisiana. The descriptions in those reports match the Arabic captions seen in the verified video.
Facebook video with the false claim (left) and Al Jazeera’s video report (right) Facebook video with the false claim (left) and Al Jazeera’s video report (right) Facebook video with the false claim (left) and ABC Universal’s report (right) Facebook video with the false claim (left) and report by Fox News (right)
Al Jazeera’s video report in the same Arabic font also states the same information. The reverse image search further revealed that the photo showing police in front of the helicopter marked “Louisiana” was taken during patrols to locate the escaped prisoners. The images and names of the three arrested men shown in the video also match those reported in the media.
The claim that an Indian woman was gang-raped while visiting Israel is false. The original video shows the escape of 10 prisoners from the Orleans Justice Center in New Orleans, United States. It has no connection to any Indian woman or to Israel.
