Video of the Great Fire in England distorts Israeli wildfires

A video is spreading across platforms claiming it shows wildfires in the scorched areas of Jerusalem in 2025. It shows an abandoned university campus that caught fire in Coventry, England.

“Israel is subject to fire: massive wildfires across the region!” said published on X on May 4, 2025.

This post is from@WorldWar_3_”, an account that has previously spread false information about the Israeli war with Hamas.

After the bushfire broke out on April 30, similar posts swept across X and other platforms (such as threads) and swept through forest areas outside Jerusalem, prompting road closure, evacuation and announcing emergency announcements as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israeli authorities said on May 1, responders brought fires – described as the country's largest fire in a decade – mainly in control.

But videos circulating online gathered three shots of a building, which was captured by Israel as firefighters worked hard to burn the fire.

Reverse image searches for matching visuals that surfaced – along with other photos and shots of the same building – describe the scene as a fire ignited in Coventry, England on April 29 (here, here, here, here, here, here and here archive).

British news organizations include the BBC and The Sun, and have also released photos of Blaze (archived here and here).

At night, a fire broke out on the abandoned Henry Road campus of Coventry College, where 15 crew members sent to put out Hell (archived here and here). The fire department said no injuries or casualties were reported.

West Midlands police announced a day later that police arrested two teenage boys in the incident (archived here).

Google Street View and Google Earth satellite images place the building in Coventry, confirming that the video does not show up in Israel (archived here and here).

Screenshots taken by X were taken on May 6, 2025, and AFP outlines the elements

Screenshots taken by X were taken on May 6, 2025, and AFP outlines the elements

AFP here debunks other misinformation about wildfires.