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Fox News accused of staging fake arrest in Israel, but raw footage shows the real story
If Your Time is short
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Raw footage shared by Fox News reporter Trey Yingst shows a Palestinian man undressing before Israeli forces arrested him in Gaza.
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A Fox News report showed the arrest of the man clad only in underwear followed by footage that captured him removing his pants before the arrest. A Fox News spokesperson said inclusion of the later footage resulted from an editing oversight.
Social media users are accusing Fox News of conspiring with Israel by staging a Palestinian man’s arrest in Gaza.
"Propagandist Fox News helped the Israeli army to fake a video of alleged Palestinians trying to cross the border fence of Gaza into Israel," a Nov. 22 TikTok video’s caption read.
The TikTok post shares a video in which a Fox News reporter describes what’s happening as a person is arrested and led away blindfolded and wearing only underwear by the Israeli military. Shortly after — just before the Fox report cuts to a live shot of the reporter — the same underwear-clad man is seen "casually getting dressed again," the TikTok caption said.
That proves the man is a "crisis actor," the caption on the TikTok video alleged.
TikTok identified this video as part of its efforts to counter inauthentic, misleading or false content. (Read more about PolitiFact's partnership with TikTok.)
We found multiple social media posts sharing the video and accusing Fox News of staging the scene.
(Screenshot from TikTok)
The video is authentic and shows Fox News reporter Trey Yingst reporting Oct. 12 from the scene of Israel’s Tribe of Nova music festival in Reim, where Hamas militants attacked concertgoers Oct. 7.
The video of Yingst aired on Fox News Oct. 12 as he was speaking with "America Reports" anchors Sandra Smith and Bill Hemmer.
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But the man in the video isn’t a crisis actor, and the video doesn’t show him getting dressed after his arrest, as the TikTok post purported. Yingst shared raw footage of his reporting on X and Instagram in response to the allegations. It shows the Palestinian man taking his clothes off before Israeli forces took him into custody.
"The truth is important," Yingst wrote.
A Fox News spokesperson confirmed that raw footage shows the man undressing before his arrest by the Israeli military and attributed the report later showing him undressing to an editing oversight.
The same Palestinian man is seen being forced to undress before being arrested in this video with Sky News reporter Stuart Ramsay. He described the military coming across a suspected Hamas militant who had a knife. Israeli soldiers ordered the man to undress, fearing he may have been wearing a suicide bomb vest.
He can also be seen removing his shirt before his arrest in this CBS News video.
The claim that Fox News staged the arrest of a Palestinian man in Gaza on behalf of Israel is False.
PolitiFact news researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.
Our Sources
TikTok video, Nov. 22, 2023 (archived)
Trey Yingst, Instagram post, Nov. 22, 2023
Trey Yingst, X post, Nov. 22, 2023
Fox News spokesperson, emailed statement, Nov. 28, 2023
Sky News, Among bullet-ridden cars, a suspected Hamas militant was hiding at the festival massacre scene, Oct. 13, 2023
CBS News, Site of Israeli music festival massacre holds shocking remnants of the horrific attack, Oct. 12, 2023
Internet Archive, Fox News - America Reports, Oct. 12, 2023
Mediaite, ‘Lay Down Flat!’ Fox News’ Trey Yingst Dodges Bullets, Shows Hamas Militant Captured, Blindfolded By IDF, Oct. 12, 2023
Liberation, Did the Fox News channel broadcast a false arrest of a Palestinian staged by the IDF?, Nov. 27, 2023
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Fox News accused of staging fake arrest in Israel, but raw footage shows the real story
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