A post shared on social media purportedly shows an image of a Paraglider installation at a Columbia University protest.
Verdict: False
This claim is inaccurate.
Fact Check:
House Speaker Mike Johnson recently called for Columbia University President Minouche Shafik to resign if she will not curb the Gaza protests on campus, NBC News reported. Johnson made this statement after meeting with Shafik on Wednesday.
A post shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, purports the students protesting on campus built a paraglider display. The post allegedly shows dummies above the protesters with red and yellow paragliders.
“Did Columbia students use dummies of paragliders as decor in their Gaza solidarity camp?” the caption reads. “If you don’t know, some Hamas terrorists reportedly used paragliders to fly over fence and commit Oct 7 massacre that killed 1200 Israelis. What next? A giant mural of Hamas chief Sinwar, with hearts and ‘we love you?'”
The claim is inaccurate. The other photos of the site, such as those seen in an article shared by the New York Post, do not show the paragliders in the image. The Columbia University newspaper also shared images of the event with no paraglider images visible.
The protesters set up tents on University grounds to call an end to the conflict in Gaza. In response to the protest the University canceled in-person classes for the after reports of Jewish students expressing safety concerns, NPR reported.
The paraglider image is a reference to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel. Reuters reported that during the assault 1,200 Israelis and foreigners were killed. (RELATED: Breaking Down Joe Biden’s Claim About School Shootings)
This is not the first time misinformation has been shared online. Check Your Fact debunked a claim that Beyonce was banned from the Academy of Country Music Awards.