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Multiple Social media users recently posted a claim that a rat ran across Aljazeera’s news desk, disrupting the outlet’s live news broadcast in London.
A Facebook user, Olubunmi Akinsemola, on October 11, 2025, posted a video with the caption, “Inside AI Jazeera London studio… Can any newscaster maintain their legendary composure on-air in a moment like this? This lady did. She even reported the incident like a true journalist.”
The 10-second footage featured a rat that ran through the broadcast news desk, frightening a supposed female newscaster.
A survey of the comment section showed mixed reactions. While some users claimed the footage is AI-generated, some lauded the supposed presenter’s approach.
One of the Facebook users, Lawson Ugute, commented, “London is historically the home of rats.”
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Another user, Mayowa Jegede, wrote, “Her professionalism is absolutely phenomenal.”
An Instagram account, Local Bahrain, also shared the video with the caption, “The rat didn’t come slow. AlJazeera’s live news broadcast was interrupted by a rat in London, with the clip going viral on social media.”
As of October 19, 2025, the post had garnered over 2,400 likes, 112 comments and 2,200 shares.
The claim can be found on Instagram here, here, here, and here. On Facebook here and here. On TikTok here and here.
Is there AlJazeera in London?
AlJazeera is the first independent news channel in the Arab world. It was first launched from the Qatari capital, Doha, on Friday, November 1, 1996.
However, AlJazeera English established its presence in The Shard in London, United Kingdom, in 2006. Ever since, its operation from this location has provided news coverage and analysis to a global audience.
ROUNDCHECK worked on this claim due to its virality and the potential to mislead the public and harm the media outlet’s reputation.
ROUNDCHECK Findings
ROUNDCHECK conducted a keyword search on Google. The results show that the footage originated from social media accounts, and no credible news platform reported such an incident.
We checked AlJazeera’s news website and official social media accounts here, here and here to verify the claim. No official statement from Al Jazeera confirmed that such an incident took place at its English studio in London at that time.
Instead, a News Editor of AlJazeera English, Saad Abedine, on his official account on X, refuted the footage, confirming that in his 11 years of work in the studio, AlJazeera has never witnessed a rat nor has the outlet ever had that kind of studio set or the anchor depicted in the clip.
ROUNDCHECK analysed the footage and discovered some anomalies.
We observed that after the chair moved in the video, following the anchor’s scream, she sat on the back of the chair with no support system in place. She literally sat on air with no chair to support.
While she did not return to her script or initial position, the presenter’s mouth and audio were unnaturally synchronising.
We checked the presenter’s sitting position and the background screen structure of AlJazeera during its news segment.
Analysis revealed that AlJazeera’s presenters often sit on the left-hand side of a round news desk, while live transmissions are also projected on the background screen.
This was not the case portrayed in the footage attached to the claim.
Saad also shared some YouTube links here and here that show AlJazeera’s studio setups.
Further analysis of this video using AI detection tools such as Hive Moderation and Deepware did not produce any results. However, we checked the presenter’s voice using Hiya Deepfake Voice Detector and discovered that it was manipulated.
With an authenticity score of 1 out of 100, the voice detector tool suggests that it is likely to be a deepfake.
Also, anomalies such as the unnatural rat run and the anchor sitting on the back of the chair with no support system in place strongly indicate that the footage was digitally manipulated or AI-generated.
Verdict
The claim that a rat disrupted Al Jazeera’s live news broadcast in London is INCORRECT.
The video originated from social media platforms, and it is AI-generated.
Analysis of the footage attached to the claim revealed several inconsistencies. AlJazeera News Editor also publicly refuted the claim, clarifying that the studio, presenter, and scene shown in the clip do not exist in the media outlet’s setup.
