Social media accounts posted a video of people sleeping in a square, claiming that it documents Los Angeles residents sleeping in the streets after being displaced by the fires. The video was accompanied by the following text: “They were sleeping in the most luxurious and upscale homes, and now they are sleeping in the streets. Mass displacement in Los Angeles, USA, after massive fires as fast as lightning, eating everything green and dry.”
Kashif verified the video and found that it is old and the claim is misleading. The video was circulated in August 2023 and dates back to a camping event during World Youth Day in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon.
The “Solo Catecumenos” account posted on Instagram on 6/8/2023, with the following text: “This is how a million and a half young people spent their night in Lisbon,” and referred through the hashtags attached to the video to World Youth Day in Lisbon in 2023.
“Crónica” website also published the video on 6/8/2023, stating that young Catholics from all over the world arrived in Lisbon on World Youth Day under the strong sun with their backpacks and sleeping bags to spend the night until the last mass.
A search on the Getty Images website revealed that it covered the event in Lisbon, and published a set of camping-related photos on 5/8/2023, stating that “Catholic youth camp to attend Pope Francis’s final mass on the occasion of World Youth Day 2023 in Tagus Park in Lisbon, Portugal.”
The 37th World Youth Day was held in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, from 1 to 6 August 2023. According to a report by the Associated Press, about 1.5 million young men and women gathered in a square in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, on Saturday to mark Pope Francis’ World Youth Day evening, braving the scorching heat to get a place for evening prayer and camping out overnight to attend his final farewell mass on Sunday morning.
A new wild fire broke out north of Los Angeles, USA, on Wednesday, 22/1/2025, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate their homes. Southern California remains on alert, since massive fires destroyed parts of Los Angeles, killing at least 27 people.
