The same video was shared elsewhere on TikTok here And hereas well as on Facebook.
It circulated as tensions in the South China Sea alley after a series of escalating confrontations between Philippine and Chinese ships.
The most serious incident occurred on June 17, when Chinese coast guards armed with knives, sticks and an axe surrounded and boarded three Philippine navy boats during a supply mission to Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands.
The two sides agreed on July 2nd to reduce tensions over the strategic waterway.
But the video circulating online does not show Saudi troops entering the Philippines.
Col. Xerxes Trinidad, chief of public affairs for the Philippine armed forces, told AFP on July 12: “Saudi Arabia did not send troops and equipment to the Philippines on July 2. The videos circulating online claiming otherwise are disinformation.”
The armed forces later posted a message about the false claim on their official Facebook page (archived link).
There are also no official reports that the Middle Eastern country sent military troops to the Philippines on July 2.
Libyan military parade
A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the fake shared video resulted in a higher resolution version of the film material which was uploaded to TikTok on May 16, 2024 (archived link).
The 18-second, higher-resolution video clip shows a screen displaying the Libyan flag.
The video also gives a clearer picture of a emblem of the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA) – loyal to strongman Khalifa Haftar – on the side of the military vehicles (archived link).
Below are screenshots of the fake post (left) and the May 16 TikTok video (right), with associated elements highlighted by AFP:
Search for a keyword from AFP archives found a similar two-minute video of a military parade in Benghazi, Libya, posted the same day.
The caption read: “Libya’s military strongman Khalifa Haftar, whose forces control eastern and part of southern Libya, attends a parade at Benina International Airport in Benghazi to mark the 10th anniversary of the military operation ‘al-Karama’ (Dignity). The operation was launched in 2014 against factions Haftar described as ‘terrorists’.”
The video was broadcast by Al Masar TV, an Arabic-language news channel based in Libya.
A search on the official Facebook page of Al Masar TV led to a live stream of the parade on May 16 (archived link).
Are Arabic language The caption read: “Special Report: The official celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Revolution of Dignity against Terrorism begins.”
Drone footage during the livestream at 2:01:08 shows military vehicles in formation in front of a large screen and white tents. This matches the position of the vehicles in the mistakenly shared video.
Below you can see a screenshot comparison of the fake video (left) and the video from Al Masar TV (right):
Satellite images from Benina International Airport on Google Maps also shows The fake shared video was filmed in Libya.
White markings on the apron and a white structure next to the runway match elements seen in the 15-second video and the 1-minute, 17-second video.
AFP has repeatedly debunked false reports that a “war” was underway over the disputes in the South China Sea.
