The Truth behind the Man on Fire in Dubai Mall

It’s strange what goes viral on social media. Content deliberately created by marketers hoping that it will go viral may not succeed as well as a fake news story that is carelessly and unthinkingly shared without any kind of verification. The viral clip of a man on fire, supposedly at a Dubai mall is a case in point.

The viral video

Shared by Faisal Cp Kuttammakkal on Facebook, this video quickly became viral, getting over a hundred and fifty shares and garnering some 33 thousand views.

The man on fire

Reports seemed to suggest that apparently it was a man’s mobile that exploded in his pocket and caused the flames to engulf him. In the video the man is seen to be screaming and others rushing around trying to help him. The video was circulating on social media as a man who caught on fire in a Dubai mall.

This is fake news

This incident never happened at the Dubai mall. Authorities confirmed that the incident did not happen anywhere in the UAE at all. Major-General Rashid Thani Al Matroushi, director-general of Dubai Civil Defence clarified that no such incident had been reported in the month of Ramadan at all.

It happened in morocco

It has now been confirmed that the incident happened in Adagir in Morocco and not in the UAE at all. The incident took place on 3 June and started to circulate on social media soon thereafter, falsely attributed to a Dubai Mall.

The truth

After the UAE authorities issued the clarification, Boomlive, a fact checking website based out of India found out more about the incident. It turned out that the incident was the result of a 30 year old setting himself on fire when he was caught shop lifting; trying to evade being having to pay a fine.

Fake news will cost you

People of the UAE are called upon not to spread fake news; and to verify the source and the veracity of any item that they forward. It is worth remembering that sharing unverified information can be very costly – doing so could mean a fine of up to Dh 250,000 and a jail sentence!

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