A video of a migrant in Tunisia reacting to news of a migration deal between Albania and Italy has been altered to appear as if his remarks were about receiving benefits in England.
The altered video has been viewed millions of times since it was posted online in August, and it shows a man saying in English: "I want my money and my free house and English woman. It's my dream. If everyone can have that, we want it. You can't get that anywhere else. England is good."
However, the video is an altered version of footage that news agency Associated Press published in February 2024 in which the man speaks in Arabic, not English, about having an unknown fate in Albania. The man makes no mention of England.
"Right now, we need protection and peace because we don't know what will happen to us in Albania. But when it opened its doors to migrants and refugees, we say: welcome and thank you to Albania. When a country or organisation helps refugees and migrants, it should be remembered that we have escaped from war," according to a Reuters translation of the man's speech in the original video.
A spokesperson for Associated Press said in an email that the altered social media video is not an authentic Associated Press report and was not published by the news agency.
The start of the 15-second edited clip is visually identical to timecode 01:00 of the original video. However, the social media clip then alters the gestures and mouth movements of the man that is speaking and the position of the men around him.
The original AP report says the video shows migrants being interviewed in Tunisia about Albania's migration deal with Italy. It describes the man who became the subject of the altered social media clip as a Sudanese refugee called Ahmed.
VERDICT
Altered. The original, unedited video was published by Associated Press in 2024 and shows the man speaking in Arabic, not English, as he reacted to news of Albania agreeing a migration deal with Italy.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work.
