The Russian video news agency “Ruptly” published a fake news piece claiming that that hundreds of Israeli Jews occupied the Temple Mount by force, publishing video of hundreds of Jews praying at the Western Wall.
The video footage was of Jewish prayer at the Western Wall of Jerusalem’s Old City celebrating Passover.
The piece was picked up by numerous media stations and websites and quoted as actual news. The “news piece”, entitled “East Jerusalem: Hundreds of Israeli Jews occupy Al-Aqsa Mosque” claimed that “Hundreds of Israeli Jews, backed by Israeli forces, occupied the grounds of Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem, Thursday,” referring to the IDF and police forces.
The report claimed as many as 385 “right-wingers and right-wing settlers”.
The story reached several prominent media outlets before Rupley changed the content of its piece. It was sourced as factual news and still is by dozens of news sites and outlets.
Ruptly later changed the content of the video piece to state “Hundreds of Israeli Jews congregated the Western Wall plaza in the Old City of Jerusalem, Thursday, to read prayers on the third day of Passover, celebrating the annual religious festival.”
This article originally appeared on Behold Israel, April 14, 2017, and reposted with permission.