Fact-Check: Old Video of Insects Falling on People In Mecca Resurfaces as Recent

This video dates back to 2019 and is being falsely shared as a recent incident from Mecca.

Fact-Check: An old video from Mecca showing several insects emerging inside a mosque is going viral on social media as recent.

(Photo: The Quint)

A video showing several insects falling on people inside a mosque in Mecca is going viral on social media to claim that this incident happened recently on Ramadan.

An archive can be seen here.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

(Archives of similar claims can be seen here and here.)

What's the truth?: While the video is indeed from Mecca, it dates back to 2019.

How did we find that out?: We did not find any recent credible reports that corroborated the viral claim.

• We performed a reverse image search on Google using some of the keyframes of the video.

• This led us to a similar video from 14 January 2019 and the description read, "A swarm of what appears to locusts descended on the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia on 8 January 2019."

• We also found another reports from The Times of Israel and Daily Express from January 2019 which specified that a massive swarm of locusts plagued Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

• Makkah Municipality also clarified on 8 January 2019 with some images of the Great Mosque of Mecca being cleared of locusts. 

Conclusion: An old video from Mecca showing several insects emerging inside a mosque is going viral on social media as recent.

(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9540511818 , or e-mail it to us at [e-mail] and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)