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Mislabelled videos claiming an Iranian drone strike in Dubai circulated widely on television and social media this week, prompting fact-checkers to intervene as Dubai Police reiterated warnings against spreading unverified information.
The clip shows a drone flying into a high-rise building and exploding as bystanders on the street record the incident. Some posts claimed the footage showed an Iranian Shahed-136 drone striking a building in Dubai.
The footage was aired or shared by multiple Indian media outlets and journalists.
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Indian fact-checker Mohammed Zubair said the video did not show an incident in the UAE but a drone strike in Bahrain earlier this month.
“We took key frames from the video and ran reverse image searches, which led us to earlier posts of the same footage from March 1,” Zubair, co-founder of Alt News, told Khaleej Times. “The buildings visible in the clip matched landmarks in Manama, including Zaya Tower and nearby structures.”
Zubair said the footage showed an Iranian drone striking a high-rise building in Manama, Bahrain, and was not linked to any incident in Dubai.
Amid the circulation of such claims, Dubai Police issued a reminder that sharing rumours or false information that contradicts official announcements or causes public panic is prohibited under UAE law.
In a post on X, Dubai Police warned that violators may face criminal penalties, including imprisonment and fines of no less than Dh200,000.
Authorities in the UAE have repeatedly urged residents to rely on official sources for updates during periods of regional tension and to refrain from sharing unverified content online.
