"Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth"
Franklin D. Roosevelt
In the latest of a series of allegations about staged casualties in the Israel-Hamas war, social media users are claiming a video shows Palestinians faking their deaths. This is false; the clip has been online since at least 2021 and appears to depict a comedy sketch featuring influencers.
"Did you ever see a better #Pallywood video than this?!" says a November 30, 2023 post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The video shows three men arranging themselves in a row on the ground, their eyes closed as though they were dead.
Similar posts spread across X — many invoking the term "Pallywood," a derogatory label blending "Palestine" and "Hollywood." The term has accompanied a flood of "crisis actor" conspiracy theories accusing civilians from both Israel and the Gaza Strip of faking injuries or deaths to garner sympathy and demonize the other side. [...]
