Video shows China fishing boats, not Gaza aid flotilla
A video of fishing vessels setting sail in northern China has been falsely shared in posts claiming it shows a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid and pro-Palestinian activists to Gaza. An analysis found the footage does not correspond to pictures of the Global Sumud Flotilla.
“Global Sumud Flotilla is not a terrorist movement. It is a HUMANITARIAN MISSION!” reads part of the caption of a Facebook video shared on September 10, 2025.
The video, which has been viewed more than 3,300 times, shows clips of what appear to be hundreds of boats heading out to sea.
The caption adds the flotilla is not carrying any weapons, only food and aid.
It was shared after organisers of the Gaza-bound flotilla carrying aid and pro-Palestinian activists said one of their boats had been struck in a suspected drone attack off Tunisia’s coast on September 9, the second in 24 hours (archived link).
Tunisia’s interior ministry said it was launching an investigation into the “premeditated aggression” attack.
Screenshot of the false Facebook post captured on September 12, 2025, with a red X added by AFP
The video was also shared hundreds of times in similar Facebook, Instagram and TikTok posts.
The flotilla hopes to help relieve the spiralling humanitarian crisis in Gaza as Israel’s war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas grinds on (archived link).
The war erupted in October 2023, triggered by a Hamas attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 64,871 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers to be reliable.
In August, as a result of the conflict, the UN officially declared famine in and around Gaza City, home to around a million people. Israel, however, denies the existence of famine in the coastal territory.
Chinese fishing vessels
A reverse image search using keyframes from the falsely shared video found the same clips were previously posted on September 1 by China’s state-run Global Times tabloid on BiliBili (archived link).
“On September 1 at noon, the summer fishing ban in Bohai and the Yellow Sea ended, fishing boats along the coast of Shandong province began setting sail at the same time,” reads the video’s simplified Chinese text.
Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared video (left) and the Global Times video (right)
Further reverse image searches led to similar clips published by Chinese state broadcaster CGTN’s affiliated Facebook account, China Plus Culture, in a September 3 post about the end of the four-month summer fishing ban (archived link).
“More than 30,000 fishing vessels departed from ports along the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea, north of 35 degrees latitude, as the four-month summer fishing ban officially ended at noon on September 1, marking the start of a new season for thousands of coastal communities.” the post reads.
A closer inspection of the clips shows the boats are flying solid red-coloured flags resembling China’s national flag — not the black, white, and green Palestinian flag.
Screenshot of the falsely shared video with the flags on the boat magnified by AFP
Photos of the Global Sumud Flotilla taken by AFP while it was docked in Tunisia show the boats are adorned with Palestinian flags, unlike the vessels seen in the falsely shared video.
FETHI BELAIDAFP
FETHI BELAID / AFP
AFP has also debunked other false claims related to the war in Gaza.
