A video showing flames engulfing a Christmas tree inside what appears to be a shopping mall is being circulated on the internet as recent visuals from the United Kingdom.
What does the post say?: The video carried text that said, "Islamist Jihadist Burned Christmas Tree in UK." The user had shared the clip with a caption saying, "Hey world and Indian opposition watch this. Christmas Tree Burned in the UK Shocking."
How did we find that out?: On conducting a simple reverse image search on the keyframes of the viral video, we came across a report published in New York Post.
The report was published on 31 December 2024 and said that a 30-foot-long Christmas caught fire at a shopping center in China's Chengdu.
It further mentioned that no injuries were reported and the fire was quickly extinguished.
News reports: Taking a cue from this, we conducted a keyword search in Chinese and found a report published by a Chinese media outlet.
It said that a Christmas tree caught fire in the Sanli Plaza in Tianfu New Area. The flames started from the side and quickly engulfed the entire tree. Multiple people later arrived to extinguish the fire.
The report further said that after an investigation, it was found that the cause was a short circuit in the tree's electrical wing. No casualties were reported.
HK01, a Hong-Kong based news outlet, shared visuals from the incident on its official YouTube channel. The video was uploaded on 27 December 2024.
Its title when translated to English said, "A two-story Christmas tree in a Chengdu shopping mall was engulfed in flames, reduced to a charred skeleton; suspected cigarette butt was thrown as the cause. | 01 News | China | Christmas Tree | Chengdu | Fire Department | Shopping Mall."
Conclusion: It is evident that the video is old and is being incorrectly linked to the United Kingdom.
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