U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered troops to prepare to deploy to the Middle East to support Israel, though likely not in combat roles, The New York Times recently reported.
But an Oct. 10 TikTok post claiming to show “thousands of US troops deployed to Israel” does not reflect this.
Tickers above and below the TikTok video say “Breaking news,” and text says “thousands of US troops make their way to Israel.”
Some of the footage, however, is more than 5 years old, and from Africa — not the Middle East.
TikTok identified this video as part of its efforts to counter inauthentic, misleading or false content. (Read more about PolitiFact’s partnership with TikTok.)
Several clips come from the Defense Department and appear on the Getty Images’ website. They show U.S. soldiers participating in an emergency deployment readiness exercise in Djibouti, which is more than 1,400 miles from Israel, in March 2018.
Another clip has been online since at least July. Someone in that video can be heard saying, “Welcome to Poland.”
We rate claims this footage shows soldiers deployed to the Middle East False.
