2018 video from Atlanta falsely shared as immigrant attempting suicide at London’s Heathrow airport

Trigger warning: This story discusses suicide

Context

Users on Facebook have shared a video of a man jumping off a balcony floor at an airport, with the claim that it depicts a Nigerian immigrant trying to resist deportation at Heathrow Airport in London. The video, which has been shared online by dozens of users, was shared in July 2023. The caption of one such post read, “At Heathrow Airport, London, a Nigerian committed suicide for trying to deport him back to Nigeria. I hope Britain will be very happy to deport his corpse now?” Archives of such posts can be found here and here. 

However, this video is old and not from London, and the person who jumped did not die.

In Fact 

We analyzed the video’s keyframes and found the video had been shared on social media platforms with various narratives since March 2018. One such narrative shared on Twitter, dated August 30, 2021, was linked to several media reports on the incident. The post, which had very little traction, noted that this incident happened in 2018: “Atlanta man throws a tantrum in the airport, jumps over the railing. He survived, but sustained serious injuries.” 

We found multiple news articles dating back to 2018, including a news report by WSB TV dated February 28, 2018, on an incident at the Atlanta Airport in Georgia, U.S. It explained, “According to police, a man who appeared to be intoxicated became belligerent and threatening to other travelers outside Terrapin Brewery in concourse D. Police told Channel 2 Action News that airport personnel were called and after a brief exchange, the man jumped to a lower level and was injured due to the fall.” The report also quoted authorities as saying that the man was taken to a hospital. He was alert, conscious, and breathing noted the news report.

We also came across another report by Fox News dated March 1, 2018, which contained the now-viral video. Similarly, we found multiple reports and videos confirming that this incident happened in 2018. A report by Seattle Times dated March 1, 2018, sourced from AP News, noted that the incident occurred on Wednesday, February 28, 2018.

None of these reports referred to the man who jumped as an immigrant or that he was Nigerian. 

This same video went viral in March 2018, claiming to be that of a Saudi Prince jumping to his death. Such posts claimed, “Prince Bandar bin Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud committed suicide at London airport after the British authorities decided to deport him under pressure from the Saudi crown prince.” However, these claims were debunked in March 2018 by France24 News.

The Verdict

A video of a man jumping down a floor at Hartley Jackson Airport in Atlanta, in the U.S. State of Georgia, has been shared as an incident of a Nigerian immigrant at London’s Heathrow Airport dying by suicide. However, this video shows a reportedly intoxicated man who sustained severe injuries but was very much alive, awake, and breathing at the time of being taken to the hospital.

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