No, video doesn't show U.S. actor Candice King condemning recent events in Rafah

What's the claim?

On May 27, a video of a woman expressing her outrage over recent events in Rafah, a Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip, went viral on social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter). The video was shared with the claim that it shows American actor Candice King, known for her role in 'The Vampire Diaries,' condemning the reported beheading of babies in the Rafah massacre.

In the 1 minute, 30-second video, the woman with blonde hair and blue eyes, seated in a car, expresses her anger, asking, "Beheaded babies, what the hell is wrong with you?" She clarifies that she is not addressing the Israeli government but the viewers, urging them not to remain silent for fear of losing sponsors. She describes the horrific scene of burning bodies and questions if people can imagine the smell.

She further mentions that previous rumors about babies being beheaded by Hamas had caused an uproar despite the lack of evidence, whereas now there are actual photos and pictures of beheaded babies in Rafah. She believes this should be a breaking point for everyone and criticizes those who remain indifferent, calling them cold and crazy. She asserts that staying silent in the face of such atrocities is abnormal and urges anyone who disagrees with her to unfollow and block her, as she doesn't want to be associated with such people.

On the X platform, users shared the video with captions like "American actress Candice King condemning the beheaded babies and Rafah Massacre." One post garnered over 2 million views. The posts' archived versions are available here, here, and here.

On May 26, 2024, an Israeli airstrike on the Tel al-Sultan refugee camp in Rafah resulted in the deaths of 45-50 Palestinians and injuries to over 200, predominantly women and children. In a report by The Guardian, witnesses described scenes of horror, with accounts of beheaded bodies and people witnessing children being burnt alive after the attack. While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu termed it a "tragic mistake," the attack has been condemned by several countries and global organizations, Al Jazeera reported.

Screenshot of the viral posts. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the woman in the video is a South African social media influencer named Candice King, not the American actor by the same name.

What we found

Upon conducting a reverse image search of keyframes from the viral video, it was found that the same video was posted on the Instagram account named candy_and_the_kings. According to the Instagram bio, this account belongs to South African influencer Candice King (archived here), who typically shares travel and pro-Palestinian content.

The video in question was posted on May 27, 2024 May 27, 2024 (archived here), with a caption that reads: "Go for it! Cancel our sponsors, tell us you don't want to be our clients anymore, don't support our businesses because you think I am crazy. No bro. This is completely normal behavior after seeing a video of the body of a baby without a head. If you aren't mortified by that, YOU ARE CRAZY. NOW TELL LEADERS TO PUT AN END TO THIS but sharing, creating your own videos, going to marches, protest, boycott. The power is with the people (sic)."

The South African influencer, who speaks with a South African accent, later posted a more extended version of the video on TikTok (archived here), lasting 3 minutes and 37 seconds, with a similar caption. However, before the caption, she added, "IG cut the full version of my rage, so here it is. 😮‍💨"

Screenshot of the TikTok video posted by the South African influencer Candice King. (Source: TikTok)

Visual comparison

Even though both women are blonde and share the same name, a comparison between a picture of the actor King from Getty Images and the woman seen in the video revealed that the woman in the viral video is definitely not the American actor.

Moreover, we could not locate the viral video on any of actor King's social media accounts, and no credible news reports confirm her statements regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Comparison between a screenshot featuring the influencer seen in the viral video and an image of actor King from Getty Images. (Source: X/Getty Images)

Has American actor King responded to the Rafah tragedy?

The actor King, known for her substantial social media presence—11 million followers on Instagram  (archived here) and 2 million on TikTok (archived here)—has not posted anything on social media in connection with the Rafah attack or the Israel-Hamas conflict so far.

King also hosts 'A Superbloom Podcast,' and videos from the podcast, such as Readjusting Your Identity w/ Claire Holt (archived here), posted on June 29, 2023, clearly show that she is not the woman featured in the Facebook video. She also does not speak with the same accent as the South African influencer.

The verdict

The video has been miscaptioned. It does not show the American actor Candice King but rather a South African influencer who shares the same name. Therefore, we have marked the claim as false.