What we can VERIFY about a video purporting to show an altercation during a pro-Palestine rally at Harvard

On Oct. 7, Hamas militants attacked Israel. As the resulting Israel-Hamas war intensifies, misinformation and disinformation have appeared online and have permeated social media.

A reader tagged VERIFY in a post on X to ask us about the authenticity of a video that purports to show a confrontation involving protesters at Harvard University.

The video shows a man wearing a backpack, surrounded by demonstrators who are shouting "shame" as they gather around him. Members of the group surrounding the man are holding keffiyehs, which are traditional scarves worn by Palestinians.

The accompanying text says: “Jewish students at Harvard surrounded by anti-Israel protesters and cornered when trying to get away.”

THE QUESTION

Does this video show a real altercation at a recent demonstration at Harvard?

THE SOURCES

• Reports from The Harvard Crimson
• Statement from Harvard Business School Dean Srikant Datar
• Video posted by the Washington Free Beacon
• Aerial footage from New England Cable News (NECN)

THE ANSWER

Yes, this video does show a real altercation at a recent demonstration at Harvard, but the video and related social posts are missing context. 

WHAT WE FOUND

VERIFY can confirm the encounter seen in the viral video did happen during an Oct. 18 pro-Palestine demonstration at Harvard University, but the video being shared online is missing context. We could not confirm if the person in the video was the target of demonstrators because he’s Jewish or the events leading up to the altercation. 

Here’s what we can VERIFY:

• The encounter did happen at a pro-Palestine demonstration on Harvard’s campus on Oct. 18.
• The man seen surrounded by demonstrators is a graduate student at Harvard Business School (HBS), confirmed by HBS Dean Srikant Datar and Harvard student media reports.

Here’s what we can’t VERIFY:

• The student seen in the video was “targeted” because he’s Israeli or Jewish, as some posts claim.
• What led to the altercation. 

VERIFY has not been able to independently confirm the events leading up to the altercation. But we've compiled details from several news organizations that reported on the demonstration.

On Oct. 18, hundreds of students staged a “die-in” in the courtyard outside Harvard’s Business School to demand an end to violence in Gaza and show solidarity with Palestine, The Harvard Crimson, Harvard’s student-run newspaper, reported.

The “die-in,” a form of protest in which the students simulate being dead, was organized by The Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee (Harvard PSC) and Graduate Students 4 Palestine. It took place on Wednesday, Oct. 18, the same day former President Barack Obama was scheduled to speak on campus. Obama canceled his appearance after developing COVID-like symptoms Wednesday morning, the Crimson reported.

As students were participating in the demonstration, the video shows an altercation between one student and a group of demonstrators participating in the pro-Palestine “die-in.” 

According to The Crimson, the student who was surrounded in the viral video had been filming the faces of those participating in the “die-in” before being confronted.

“Within minutes, he was escorted out by protest organizers, who blocked his camera with their keffiyehs — traditional scarves worn by Palestinians that have come to symbolize Palestinian nationalism. Demonstrators yelled ‘shame’ at the disruptor as he left,” The Crimson reported.

That encounter is shown in the video shared with VERIFY. We found several other videos showing the same encounter published online by various news sources.

New England Cable News (NECN) published aerial footage from the demonstration that also shows the encounter. At nine seconds into that video, a man can be seen walking through the “die-in” appearing to film people taking part in the demonstration. That aligns with The Crimson’s reporting. 

The Washington Free Beacon, a conservative online news agency, published a different video of the same encounter on YouTube.

The Free Beacon’s video appears to be taken by the person being surrounded by the demonstrators, as the camera’s view is from behind the keffiyeh scarves. At about nine seconds into the video, someone can be heard saying, “Exit, show him the exit.” That also aligns with The Crimson’s reporting that indicated the student was being escorted from the demonstration. 

Following the Oct. 18 demonstration, Harvard Business School Dean Srikant Datar issued a statement referring to the encounter seen in the videos. He confirmed the encounter was between one of HBS’ graduate students and a subset of the demonstrators.

The statement does not include any information about the student’s identity or religion. The statement also doesn’t provide any information as to what events led to the encounter. 

“Reports have been filed with HUPD [Harvard University Police Department] and the FBI, the facts are being evaluated, and it will be some time before we learn the results of an investigation. But the protest has raised questions about how we address freedom of speech, hateful speech that goes against our community values, and security and safety for everyone at the School,” Datar’s statement said. 

In an email to VERIFY, Harvard spokesperson Jason Newton declined to comment on the incident and said he cannot reveal any information about the identity of the student for privacy reasons. 

VERIFY reached out to Harvard PSC, Graduate Students 4 Palestine, Harvard University Police Department and the FBI for more information and didn’t hear back at the time of publication.