Fact-Check: Does This Video Show Recent Diwali Celebrations in Dubai? No!

We found that the video dates back to 2023 and shows the UAE National Day celebrations.

An old, unrelated video is being shared with the false claim that it shows Muslims in Dubai celebrating Diwali.

(Source: X/Altered by The Quint)

A video is going viral on social media, claiming to show Muslims in Dubai celebrating Diwali.

Some of the users sharing the video have captioned it, "Muslims in Dubai are celebrating Diwali, while Muslims in India have a problem with it. "

An archived version of this claim can be found here.

(Source: X/Screenshot)

(Archived versions of similar claims can be found here, here, here, and here.)

Is it true?: No, the claim is false.

• The video dates back to 2023 and shows the UAE (United Arab Emirates) National Day celebrations.

How did we find out?: We ran a reverse image search on the video using Google Lens and found a video uploaded to TikTok in 2023 with similar visuals.

• The video was uploaded on 3 December 2023, and its caption indicates that it shows the UAE National Day celebrations.

The video was uploaded in 2023. 

(Source: TikTok/ Screenshot)

The two videos shared the same visuals. 

(Source: TikTok/ Screenshot)

• We also found out that the UAE National Day is celebrated annually on 2 December.

• A keyword search led us to a YouTube video titled "52nd UAE National Day 2023 - Abu Dhabi Fireworks."

• The video shows decorations similar to the ones in the viral video, including a sign that says '52', indicating that it is the 52nd UAE National Day.

The two videos have similar decorations. 

(Source: YouTube/ Screenshot)

• We tried to geolocate the area from the YouTube video based on a location sign board with 'Corniche Street' written on it and found an area with similar geography to the visuals in the video.

• We found a report by Abu Dhabi City Municipality about decorating the streets of Abu Dhabi Island and outlying cities with illuminated geometric shapes.

• The visual shared in the report looks similar to the decorations from the viral video.

• According to the report, notable locations with the decorations included Abu Dhabi Corniche Street and major highways such as Al Khaleej Al Arabi Street, Sheikh Zayed Street, and Airport Street.

Here's a preview of the report by Abu Dhabi City Municipality.

(Source: Abu Dhabi City Municipality/ Screenshot)

Conclusion: The video dates back to 2023 and shows the 52nd UAE National Day celebrations.

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