Rumors about the Israel-Hamas war have run rampant on social media, and among them is a claim that Israel reduced a church in Gaza to rubble.
“Israel just bombed and destroyed the third oldest church in the world and the biggest church in Palestine,” an Oct. 9 Instagram post said, sharing a photo of St. Porphyrios Orthodox Church.
This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
The church responded to the unfounded claims on Facebook.
“We inform you that the church of St. Porphyrios in Gaza is in the best condition,” read an English Facebook translation of the church’s Oct. 9 post. “And the news you spread is nothing more than rumors.”
It went on to call the claims “lies and fake news.”
Subsequent posts from the church haven’t contradicted this.
We rate claims the church was destroyed False.