Los Angeles has been rocked by widespread unrest following a series of immigration raids carried out by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. What began as demonstrations against the agency quickly escalated, with tear gas, hundreds of arrests, and clashes transforming parts of the city into scenes of violent protests.

On social media, the turmoil has fueled a wave of viral videos and dramatic claims; with many of them being misleading and unfounded.

DW Fact Check investigated a few of the widely shared ones.

Claim: "OVERNIGHT IN LA: Illegal Aliens light themselves on FIRE after dousing Jeep with gasoline and lighting it." This is claimed in a post on X with nearly 2.8 million views. Along with the claim, a video is shared showing a group of young people pouring gasoline on a Jeep before it explodes in flames. The same footage has been widely shared across platforms including YouTube and Instagram, all claiming it shows part of the current unrest in Los Angeles.

DW Fact Check: False.

The video is not related to the current protests. It first appeared online in March 2024 and shows a street takeover in Los Angeles' Hyde Park neighborhood, unrelated to immigration raids or migrant protests.

A visible watermark in several versions of the clip links it to an Instagram account that regularly posts viral videos of car crashes, explosions, and street racing scenes. The video was

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