As news of a fire in Israel spread, social media was quickly flooded with dramatic videos — flames tearing through a building, people running in panic, and captions claiming it showed the chaos unfolding in real time. The footage was intense, emotional, and convincing. But there’s just one problem: it wasn’t from Israel at all. The viral video actually shows a fire that broke out in January 2025 at the Royal Yak casino in Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
One such video, posted by @Syed_1109084 and widely viewed, claimed to show scenes from the immediate aftermath of the Israeli fire incident. The post was later deleted after it went viral.
The moment the video went viral, it sparked anxiety and confusion online. Because it looked so passionate and up-to-date, many others assumed it was real-time footage from the Israeli crisis.
The video was not from Israel – Fact Check
When this viral video caught our attention, D-Intent Data launched an investigation to verify its authenticity. We analyzed the clip frame by frame and conducted reverse image searches. During the process, we traced the video back to Mexican media sources, where we found that it actually shows a fire that occurred in January 2025 at the Royal Yak casino in Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico—months before the tragic events in Israel. The incident was reported by local outlets at the time, and the original footage is still available. Contrary to what some viral posts suggest, there is no connection between this fire and the recent one in Israel.
INFERNO: Massive fire at the Royal Yak casino in Culiacan, #Mexico. Unknown casualties or injured.
— Jack Straw (@JackStr42679640) January 16, 2025
Breaking911 pic.twitter.com/jcZJ8vkn3L
Our investigation makes it clear: the viral video being circulated as footage from a recent fire in Israel is actually from a January 2025 incident in Mexico — and has no connection to the current events in Israel.
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— D-Intent Data (@dintentdata) May 3, 2025
ANALYSIS: Misleading
FACT: A video showing a massive fire at a busy location has been shared online, falsely claiming to be from the recent fire in Israel. However, reports suggest that this video is actually from a previous incident in January 2025, (1/3) pic.twitter.com/km3frC1PXK
Intent Behind the Misinformation
To mislead the public by using unrelated footage to stir fear, create confusion, and amplify panic during a real crisis.
Conclusion
Claim: Viral video shows a recent fire in Israel.
Fact: The video pertains to a fire incident that occurred at the Royal Yak Casino in Culiacán, Mexico, in January 2025.
Related Article: Fact Check: Unverified video of intense aerial bombardment falsely linked to the Israel-Palestine conflict – D-Intent Data
