A 17-second clip showing a couple getting intimate inside a United Nations–branded vehicle is circulating online alongside claims it was filmed in Africa. But the claim is misleading; while the incident did happen, the video was shot in Tel Aviv, Israel. The UN confirmed to AFP Fact Check that the matter was “reviewed and corrective action” taken against the staff involved.
On May 10, 2023, a Nigerian Facebook page published a video of a woman in a red dress straddling a man in the back seat of a white vehicle branded with the letters “UN”. A passenger can be seen in the front seat.
The car drives off after a few moments.
“This is one of the ways the United Nations keep the peace in Africa. When what you’re watching on this video is not obtainable, they kidnap and rape African underaged kids (sic),” the post reads.
The same claim was repeated on Twitter.
However, the clip is old and unrelated to Africa.
Israel, not Africa
Using the video verification tool InVID-WeVerify to search keyframes from the video, we located an Indonesian article (archived here) published in June 2020 revealing an incident involving UN staff in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv.
In a separate report by The New Humanitarian nonprofit news organisation (archived here), the clip was said to have been filmed on HaYarkon Street in Tel Aviv.
AFP Fact Check confirmed this by geolocating landmarks in the video using Google Maps.
At 88 HaYarkon Street, we found a lamp post with three round lights close to a traffic light with a blue sign indicating a pedestrian crossing.
Further down the street is a white building recognisable by a curved entrance and a rectangular clock on the left.
In 2020, when the footage first went viral online, some social media posts claimed the incident had happened in DR Congo’s capital of Kinshasa.
However, AFP Fact Check debunked the claim, pointing out the palm-lined seafront road did not exist in Kinshasa.
Days earlier, on June 26, 2020, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric had tweeted about the incident, saying they had launched an investigation.
“We are deeply disturbed by content of video apparently involving personnel from #UNTSO [United Nations Truce Supervision Organization]. An investigation was swiftly launched & is moving very quickly. Appropriate action will be taken,” read the tweet.
The UN also released a detailed statement confirming a probe was underway (archived here).
When asked about the outcome, the deputy spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, Farhan Aziz, told AFP Fact Check in an email on May 29, 2023 that the matter was concluded.
“The UNTSO matter was reviewed and corrective action was taken with regard to the personnel involved,” Aziz said, confirming the incident had happened in Israel.