Donald Trump yesterday shared three anti-Muslim videos posted by Britain First’s deputy leader Jayda Fransen on Twitter, prompting widespread condemnation.
The US President, who is known for his fierce stance against so-called “fake news”, appeared unconcerned by a lack of certainty over the veracity of the clips.
Here’s what we know about them so far.
1. ‘VIDEO: Muslim migrant beats up Dutch boy on crutches!’
One of the videos posted by Fransen carried a caption which read “VIDEO: Muslim migrant beats up Dutch boy on crutches!”, but it appears the original clip carried no such description.
The clip carries the logo of Dutch video sharing website Dumpert, which hosts user-uploaded content, much like YouTube, and is ultimately owned by one of the Netherland’s biggest media companies, Telegraaf, through a subsidiary called NewsMedia.
One of the themes of content on the site focusses on the behaviour of adolescents. Many videos show children fighting in schools.
A Google translation of the site’s terms and conditions states: “NewsMedia gives no guarantees regarding the completeness, accuracy or reliability of the [content].”
According to an article on Telegraaf.nl, the parent company of Dumpert, a 16-year-old was arrested in May 2017 after the video which was filmed in the town of Monnickendam, in the Dutch province of North Holland, was posted.
The article states that the video was subsequently taken down from Dumpert at the request of police and the victim.
The video’s original caption did not mention the race of either of those in depicted, according to the Telegraaf.
In fact, the Netherlands Embassy in Washington later replied to Trump and Fransen making it clear the attacker was “born and raised in the Netherlands”, and not a migrant, as the tweets claimed.
2. ‘VIDEO: Muslim Destroys a Statue of Virgin Mary!’
Another video posted by Fransen has been in existence since at least 2013.
An article on the website of Iranian state broadcaster Al-Alam reports that the clip shows a militant linked to the so-called Islamic State smashing a ceramic statue of the Virgin Mary after raiding a Christian church in northwestern Syria.
It was reported that militants raided the place of worship near Idlib City and looted items.
Iran’s government has provided support to the Syrian government during the country’s civil war.
3. ‘VIDEO: Islamist mob pushes teenage boy off roof and beats him to death!’
The third video shared by Fransen was originally taken during riots in Egypt four years ago.
France24 reported that the clip was filmed during the summer of 2013, following days of political unrest.
The young man who died was named locally as Hamada Badr, and Badr’s father told media he had no proof his son’s attackers were Muslim.
“I only know that one of them had a long beard and that he was carrying a black Salafi flag,” he said.
The BBC reported that those involved in the the incident were prosecuted in 2015, with one man executed.
The clip carried the logo of the website “nomorecocktails.com”, which no longer exists.
An internet archive snapshot reveals the domain took on the appearance of a news website, with headlines such as “Countdown to the 1 year anniversary of Benghazi”.
CORRECTION: This article was updated to correct a reference to the Telegraaf group. It is one of the Netherlands’ biggest media companies, not Denmark’s.