A video showing a building engulfed in fire has surfaced online with a claim that it is the result of a purported military coup in Ivory Coast.
The viral video, posted by an X user @AFRICANDEMOC, has a caption that read:
“Ivory cost coup. 19/05/ 2025. Ivory coast is burning Alasana Qutara is no where to be found.”
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The post has generated more than 190,000 views with over 1,200 reposts and more than 2,900 likes as of May 23, 2025.
CLAIM
Video shows building set ablaze due to military coup in Ivory Coast.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is MISLEADING.
False rumours of a military coup in Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d’Ivoire, have gone viral recently across social media platforms. However, there’s no credible media report indicating such.
In fact, Business Day reported that the Ivorian president, Alassane Ouattara, presided over a council of ministers meeting at the presidential palace in Abidjan on May 21, 2025 demonstrating the government’s continued functionality amid the rumour.
A reverse image search on some keyframes obtained from the viral video, combined with a keyword search on the internet, revealed that the video showed a widely reported fire incident that happened in Ivory Coast on February 5, 2025. An earlier version of the video can be seen here and here.
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The fire gutted and caused damage to the Adjamé Château shopping centre, which is located in Abidjan district of the country. Around 5:00PM local time that day, flames began to spread through the centre, accompanied by thick black smoke that eventually engulfed the three-story building.
Eyewitnesses reported scenes of panic as residents gathered outside; some attempted to extinguish the fire, while others watched in utter shock.
Recall that the West African nation is billed to hold a presidential election in October 2025, even as its main opposition leader, Tidjane Thiam, stepped down from the race after a court in Abidjan barred him from contesting and struck his names off the electoral list last month, saying the 62-year-old politician had lost Ivorian nationality when he acquired French citizenship in 1987, Aljazeera reported.
President Alassane Ouattara, 83, who has been in power since 2011, has yet to say whether he plans to run again but has said he is eager to “continue serving my country”, the report added.
THE VERDICT
The claim that the video shows building set ablaze due to military coup in Ivory Coast is MISLEADING; the video has been online since February 5 and is unrelated to any coup or political unrest in the West African nation.
Nurudeen Akewushola is a fact-checker with FactCheckHub. He has authored several fact checks which have contributed to the fight against information disorder. You can reach him via nyahaya@icirnigeria.org and @NurudeenAkewus1 via Twitter.
