By: Azra Ali
March 8 2024
Old image shared as U.K. Parliament 'discussing situation in Gaza'
Share Article:
Screenshot of the post shared online.(Source: Facebook/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)
Fact-Check
The Verdict Misleading
The top photo in the post is from October 18, 2019, and depicts U.K. MPs deliberating on the renegotiated Brexit deal in the House of Commons.
What is the claim?
A viral image juxtaposing two photographs of U.K. Members of Parliament (MPs) during sessions in the House of Commons has been circulated with the claim that the top photo captures MPs debating the situation in Gaza while the bottom photo depicts a discussion on immigration and border policies. The image, shared by a social media user, suggests that debates on the Gaza border issue attracted a full attendance of MPs, contrasting sharply with the sparse presence during the immigration debate. An archived version of the post is available here.
The post shared online. (Source: Facebook/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)
However, the picture on top does not show MPs discussing the Israel-Hamas conflict.
How did we verify this?
A reverse image search of the first photograph, as presented in the social media post, directed us to its original version hosted on the Flickr page of the U.K. Parliament. The description accompanying the Flickr photo reveals it was captured on October 18, 2019, during a discussion of Boris Johnson’s renegotiated Brexit deal, not the Israel-Hamas conflict as claimed. The image was credited to “U.K. Parliament/Jessica Taylor/ Stephen Pike.”
Screenshot of Flickr website. (Source: Flickr/Screenshot)
It's important to note that on February 21, 2024, the House of Commons indeed deliberated and voted on a motion advocating for a ceasefire in Gaza. This was documented in a livestream by Sky News on the same day. While this session attracted a significant number of MPs, the photo misidentified in the post did not pertain to this discussion.
Comparison screenshots from the viral post and the Sky News YouTube channel covering the ceasefire vote in the House of Commons. (Source: Facebook/Sky News YouTube channel).
The verdict
The top photo in the viral post depicts MPs deliberating on the renegotiated Brexit deal on October 18, 2019, rather than discussing Gaza in the U.K. Parliament. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.
