A video seemingly revealing directors of Cable News Network (CNN) instructing reporters and cameramen to act in a manner that exaggerates Hamas airstrikes on Israel has gone viral.

The video, which was first shared last week on TikTok, contains footage of what appears to be CNN reporters running and taking cover as a voice in the background guides them on what to do and how to act for the cameras.

On the TikTok video shared by @mehmetvefadag6 was a text caption that read, “DEVELOPING: CNN got caught faking an attack from Hamas in Israel.”

When the video began circulating on WhatsApp on Sunday, it was accompanied by a message FIJ found on two different groups. This message read, “The American channel CNN forgets that it is on the air, and the director directs the news correspondent and the cameraman with her through the phone, and asks them to pretend that they have been exposed to Hamas rockets and says to her: Look around in a way that shows that you are terrified by the bombing!!! YOU NOW SEE THE WORLD WE LEAVE IN.”

READ ALSO: FACT-CHECK: On Tinubu’s Certificate, There’s Evidence BBC Africa Is Wrong

CLAIM: Video shows CNN directors instructing reporters to fake Hamas strike on Israel.

VERIFICATION: FIJ made checks on the CNN website and found a video matching the one shared on TikTok and WhatsApp. This video was of Clarissa Ward, CNN’s Chief International Correspondent, and her team taking cover near the Israel-Gaza border.

READ ALSO: FACT-CHECK: What CSU Documents Really Say About Tinubu’s Studentship, Age, Gender

The video shared on October 9, 2023, had a voiceover of Kate Bolduan, a CNN anchor, explaining the events on screen. This video did not have the male voiceover and caption present in the TikTok version.

FIJ made further checks to ascertain where the video first sprung from and found that a Twitter account, @TheQuartering, created the circulating version of the video as a meme.

This edited version was made with the help of a voiceover actor @stevenvoiceover.

CONCLUSION: The video circulating on WhatsApp on Sunday is a fabrication, and deviates from the original CNN publication.

VERDICT: The narrative of directors telling CNN reporters to fake a reaction to attacks on Israel is false.