Video shows men dancing in Pakistan months ago, not Taliban celebrating in Afghanistan

A viral video that some on social media are claiming shows the Taliban celebrating in Afghanistan is months-old video from Pakistan. (Still from viral video)

CLAIM: A video that’s circulating on social media shows Taliban fighters dancing to a Drake song after their takeover of Afghanistan this week.

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The video, which shows men dancing, was originally filmed in Pakistan months ago. And the audio was altered before it was shared this week.

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THE FACTS: After the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan this week, false posts circulated about the Taliban. Social media users shared a video showing a group of men dancing with guns that was edited to feature rapper Drake’s track “In My Feelings.”

False posts claimed the video showed Taliban fighters celebrating in a local club after taking charge in Afghanistan this week.

“Taliban soldiers jamming to Drake’s song after taking over a local club in Afghanistan,” an Instagram user wrote.

“What is this Taliban? No shame or what?” a Twitter user wrote.

“This can’t be real life. The Taliban dancing to Drake,” a Facebook user wrote.

The video is actually months old and was filmed in Pakistan. The song “In My Feelings” was not in the original video, which instead featured an instrumental.

A reverse-image search showed that the video was posted on YouTube as early as March 2021. The video’s caption notes that it was filmed in Bannu District, locationed in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

An Indian media outlet also shared the video with unsubstantiated claims saying the clip showed Taliban fighters.

The Associated Press identified and contacted one of the men dancing in the video on Facebook, but he declined to comment.


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