No, South African political party the Democratic Alliance didn't hoist a giant Israeli flag on Cape Town's iconic Table Mountain
IN SHORT: An image which appears to show a large Israeli flag planted on Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa is circulating on social media. But it is likely manipulated or generated using artificial intelligence tools, shows multiple inconsistencies, and was primarily spread by a highly untrustworthy source.
A series of social media posts circulating in October 2024 claim that the flag of Israel has been placed on Table Mountain, a distinctive landmark in Cape Town.
"South Africa has been sold to the Zionists," many of the posts read. Some allege the flag was erected by the Democratic Alliance (DA), the political party governing the Western Cape province, of which Cape Town is the capital.
Zionism is a movement to create and protect a Jewish state, often used as shorthand for support of the state of Israel.
While the claim spread on Facebook with some engagement, X versions were more popular, some gaining thousands of views. Almost all the posts included an image which appears to show a large Israeli flag hoisted on a rocky high point overlooking Cape Town and Table Mountain.
But, as many social media users have pointed out, a number of elements in the image don't add up.
Conflict between Israel and Palestine
Israel and Palestine have been in violent conflict for decades. The current crisis began after Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel from Gaza on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, and taking a reported 251 as hostages.
The Gaza Strip is a small Palestinian territory wedged between Israel and the eastern Mediterranean sea.
Israel has subsequently waged war against Gaza and to date has killed over 44,000 Palestinians, including over 16,000 children, in Gaza and the West Bank. The bombardment has reportedly damaged or destroyed half of Gaza's homes, most of its schools, cropland, road networks and many health facilities.
South Africa's ties to Palestinian resistance
South Africa has long supported the Palestinian people. The African National Congress (ANC), the country's largest political party, has been particularly vocal, drawing parallels between Israeli oppression of Palestinians and the South African system of apartheid.
In the wake of Israel's war on Gaza, South Africa brought a case against Israel to the International Court of Justice, the judicial arm of the United Nations that aims to settle disputes between states. South Africa submitted that Israel's conduct in Gaza was "in violation of its obligations under the Genocide Convention", which obliges member states to prevent or punish the crime of genocide. Genocide includes "acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group".
The DA, which is in a coalition with the ANC, is seen as less supportive of Israel than it once was. But the party has been criticised for its position of "neutrality" in the context of Israel's plausible acts of genocide.
There have been multiple demonstrations in support of Palestinian resistance in DA-governed Cape Town since October 2023. Unsurprisingly, the idea of an Israeli flag being placed on the city's iconic landmark mountain was not well received by many social media users.
"This is not the Middle East this is Cape Town, here we will definitely NOT take this lightly," one user wrote. "Burn it down," wrote another.
But many other users were sceptical, with some saying the image looked photoshopped.
No blue flags, many red flags
One social media user commented that the photo claimed to show the flag erected on Table Mountain but actually showed Table Mountain in the background, a logical improbability. Looking closely, there are a few geographical inconsistencies in the image.
It appears that the photo would need to have been taken on a mountain or from a high point, but the land in that part of Cape Town is in fact flat and near sea level. A part of another mountain that would likely be visible from this angle is also missing from the skyline in the image. (See the Google Earth image below.)
The suspicious image also contains inconsistencies. If you zoom in, you can see the people appear to have warped body parts, with one face melting into an obscure blue blob.
In the background, ocean waves appear to wash right up to large buildings. Other minor inconsistencies in the mountain range, cityscape and horizon all add to the impression that the image cannot be real.
Whether generated or manipulated using artificial intelligence tools, or edited the old fashioned way, the image is unconvincing on closer inspection.
Rubbished by official sources, only spread by dubious accounts
The claim that the Israeli flag has been put up on Table Mountain has been rubbished in a post on X by South African National Parks (Sanparks), which runs the Table Mountain National Park.
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Africa Check also reached out to the office of DA politician and premier of the Western Cape, Alan Winde, for input. Spokesperson Regan Thaw didn't mince words, calling the claim "wholly, ridiculously and quite obviously inaccurate".
The photo and claim were also not posted by any official bodies or reputable news outlets, which we would expect if this story were real.
The most notable spreader of the claim is Mehmet Vefa Dag, who published multiple instances of the photo to X on 16 October 2024. Dag is an active X user who appears to run a small political party. His party account also posted the photo, including a notice of plans to remove the flag.
An online search for Dag mostly turns up articles about him spreading false information and conspiracy theories, his homophobic views, and his party losing elections.
Questioning the source of information shared on social media is an important indicator of its veracity and a helpful tool in your verification arsenal. So is simply reading the comments.
One user who posted the fake image to Facebook later commented: "So it turns out this is a fake post." They kept the post up anyway, but we suggest not circulating anything on social media until you've verified it - and swiftly deleting anything you later find to be false.
