A viral video claiming to show a physical fight between Egyptian and Ugandan security teams during an African Union summit is false [1].
The debunking of the clip is significant because the footage was shared on social media to suggest diplomatic tension between President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt and President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda.
The footage in question allegedly depicts a scuffle between the security details of the two leaders during the African Union summit in Nairobi, Kenya [1]. According to the dossier, that summit took place from June 2, 2024, to June 4, 2024 [2].
BBC News Arabic conducted a fact-check of the material to determine if the altercation occurred. The investigation found no evidence that a fight took place between the two security teams [1].
Investigators determined that the video is either from a different incident entirely or has been edited to mislead viewers [1]. The BBC News Arabic fact-check team said the video does not show a fight between the guards, but instead shows a scene from another event that was not the African Union summit [3].
Social media users had circulated the clip as proof of friction between the two nations' delegations. However, the verified findings indicate the claims were unfounded [1]. The incident did not occur as described by the unverified posts circulating online.
“The video does not show a fight between the guards, but instead shows a scene from another event”
This incident highlights the speed at which manipulated or miscontextualized media can be used to manufacture diplomatic friction. By attributing a random scuffle to high-level security details, bad actors can create a false narrative of instability or hostility between African nations, emphasizing the need for rigorous verification of social media clips during international summits.
