Viral Video Claiming Muslims Threaten Notre Dame Over Nice Church Killer Release Debunked As Fake
A viral post claiming BREAKING - Muslims in France are threatening to burn down the Notre Dame Cathedral unless French authorities release Ibrahim Alisaoui is circulating again on X.
The claim is false.
The video in the post shows masked men with a model of Notre Dame and a torch, saying "If he is not set free, the God's wrath will be upon your people here in France!"
Fact Check: Video Is Staged
This is not a new threat. The same video first appeared on January 26, 2025, posted by an anonymous account that was later suspended. It has been viewed over 11 million times since.
France 24 journalist Wassim Nasr, an expert on jihadist movements, said at the time: "No, HTS is not demanding the release of individuals in France and is not threatening to burn Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Everything in this video circulating on social media is ridiculous, from the message to the Egyptian accent, the clothes, and the model."
Broderick McDonald, an Oxford expert on jihadist groups in Syria, told France 24 the video appears to be "100% fake" and does not resemble the logo of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
France 24 also noted poor Arabic language skills and that the men did not speak with a Syrian accent. The origin is suspected to be pro-Russian disinformation.
Who Is Ibrahim Alisaoui?
The man named in the video is Brahim Aouissaoui, a 21-year-old Tunisian migrant who killed three worshippers in a knife attack inside the Notre-Dame de Nice basilica on October 29, 2020.
Victims were Nadine Vincent, 60, Simone Barreto Silva, 44, and sacristan Vincent Loques, 55.
He was sentenced on February 26, 2025, by a Paris court to life imprisonment without parole, the heaviest sentence in French law.
There is no credible threat to release him, and no credible threat to Notre Dame Paris.
Source: France 24, AP, Vanguard, France 24 Observers
