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Claim: A Facebook user @ Mr Soup Comedy shared a video showing a crowd of people moving and suggested that it was a group of Israelites fleeing their country to Nigeria.
Verdict: False. The video does not show Israelites fleeing to Nigeria. It was filmed at Hellfest, a music festival in France.
Full Text
Social media often serves as a shortcut for sensational narratives where users recycle and mis-caption videos to provoke strong reactions. DUBAWA has debunked such manipulations. For example, one viral clip claimed to show people fleeing the Israel-Iran conflict. Still, a reverse image search traced it to a hillside in Nepal, where people had harvested caterpillar fungus weeks before the conflict began. In another case, a video claimed Nigerians faced deportation from the U.S., yet DUBAWA traced it to a stitched montage of unrelated videos that had no link to deportation.
DUBAWA has also exposed AI-generated disinformation presented as reality. For instance, a video claimed Nigeria had sent peacekeeping troops to Israel, but the clip turned out to be AI-generated with no credible source to support it.
Recently, a Facebook user, @ Mr Soup Comedy, claimed that people from Israel are moving to Nigeria.
The user shared a 10-second footage that showed a throng of people walking briskly with bags, which they carried along with them.
Within the background of the video, a male voice is heard explaining: “ Israelites are now running away from their country to Nigeria. You see this location they are currently in? I know the place; it is close to Abuja. Please help them. They are now coming to Nigeria.”
As of Sept. 6, 2025, when the video was seen, it had 24,600 views, 60,000 views, 794 comments, and 2,000 shares.
We reviewed the comments and found varying views from users like @Ernesto, who said, “Let them come because they are part of the Igbos.”
@Ahmbenoo, who also seemed to believe the claim, replied: “Please, we should show them love and care.”
“Let them come, they are safe and highly welcomed,” another user, @Maliki Margret, said with an optimistic tone.
Aside from those who believed, some users responded with sarcasm, while others disagreed with the claim.
The claim in question appeared odd, especially considering Israel’s global position and the slim likelihood of Nigeria being their choice for shelter and safety. We decided to dig deeper to find the facts.
Verification
DUBAWA started by taking a screenshot of the video and subjecting it to a reverse image search. This led us to the same clip posted on TikTok on June 19, 2025, with an overlaid text in French that reads: “Hellfest campsite opened yesterday.”
The same TikTok user posted another video of the campsite on June 23, 2025. A subsequent keyword search led to a similar video posted on YouTube by French web channel TV Sèvre et Maine on June 20. The visuals in the YouTube video closely matched those in the video shared on Facebook.
For instance, a tall red-and-black sign, visible above the crowd and tents, appears both in the Facebook video and in the YouTube footage. Again, the row of white tents in the video matches a geotagged photo of the Hellfest campsite from 2023 on Google Maps. Additional images on Google Earth also show the same field and tents.
Beyond the oddity of the claim itself, there is no credible evidence to support it. If the Israelites had actually fled their country for Nigeria, such a large-scale movement would have attracted international media attention and official reports, none of which exist.
A Note on Hellfest
Hellfest is one of Europe’s largest music festivals, held annually in Clisson, France. Known for its massive crowds and heavy metal culture, the festival attracts tens of thousands of fans worldwide each year. Long queues and large groups of people moving together are familiar sights at the campsite, which explains the scene in the viral video.
Conclusion
The claim that Israelites are fleeing their country to Nigeria is false. The video in question does not show migrants or refugees but festival attendees at Hellfest in France.
