A claim that a video shows a French helicopter providing supplies to terrorists in Mali is circulating on X.
The claim, which was contained in a video post shared on the X app by user @cecild84.
The over two-minute video showed a helicopter descending toward a hilly area, where people were gathered. Uniformed personnel could be seen rappelling from the aircraft to rescue someone, after which the helicopter ascended back into the sky
The post had a caption alongside that read:
READ MORE: Video does not show RECENT helicopter crash in Ghana
CLAIM
Video shows a French helicopter providing supplies to terrorists
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is MISLEADING!
A Google reverse image search on screenshots from the video traced it to a clearer, over four-minute version uploaded on YouTube in 2024 by an Arabic channel, العهد الجديد (al-ahad al-jadid in transliteration).
The clip shared on X corresponds to the portion of the YouTube video that begins at the 2:06 timestamp and runs until the end.
The caption and headline of the video, originally in Arabic, translated to:
“The strongest rescue operation in the Sultanate of Oman.”
The description added:
“A man from Samail fell into Wadi Al-Jinn, but the men of Oman, Mashallah, managed to go down and rescue him despite the difficult terrain. May God protect Oman, its ruler, and its people, and bless their fruitful cooperation.”
READ ALSO: Viral photos of helicopters are in USA not Nigeria
Using keywords from the caption led to news reports, as seen here, that confirmed the incident occurred a year ago in Oman, a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East.
THE VERDICT
The claim that a video shows a French helicopter providing supplies to terrorists is misleading; the footage is from a rescue operation by the Oman Police from a year ago.
Seasoned fact-checker and researcher Fatimah Quadri has written numerous fact-checks, explainers, and media literacy pieces for The FactCheckHub in an effort to combat information disorder. She can be reached at sunmibola_q on X or fquadri@icirnigeria.org.
