Fact-check: Did an Israeli company sell a bloodied doll of a Palestinian child?
Some social media users are claiming this is the latest shocking campaign to denigrate Palestinians. The Cube took a closer look at the viral video.
It’s an image that has shocked many social media users lately. The viral clip appears to show a wounded baby doll surrounded by toy soldiers with an Israeli flag in the background.
The packaging says in Spanish the item “includes a Palestinian baby” and “elite soldiers” and appears to be sold by toy street vendors.
Multiple social media users were quick to jump to the conclusion this toy was made by an Israeli company and sold in Mexico as a way to mock the suffering of Palestinians.
“Now they are selling “bleeding Palestinian baby” dolls. Comes with original keffiyeh [a traditional headdress from the Middle East] and cleanable blood,” said one shocked Twitter user.
“An Israeli company sells bloody Palestinian dolls. What is its goal? Who is going to play with these dolls?” asked another account.
A pro-Palestine artwork
The Cube conducted a Google search by looking up keywords but could not find any evidence this doll was made or sold by an Israeli company.
Euronews was able to trace back the doll to its creator, a Mexican artist called Vlocke based in Mexico City.
Turns out this doll is actually part of a pro-Palestinian art project.
In an Instagram post, the artist explained that he took a normal doll from a toy shop and smeared it in red.
He then says he placed it with the authorization of the toy vendors in their stalls in Mexico City to raise awareness of Palestinians.
“We are with Palestine, make no mistake. On January 5, we approached the street toy merchants […] to whom we explained the purpose of this project, without hesitation they lent their stalls to take a shot and some photos, taking care to do it quickly to avoid the curious looks of passers-by,” explained the artist.
“An apology if we hurt or offended you,” concluded Vlocke.
We also found another video showing how the artist went about creating the viral bloody doll.
More than 10,000 children have been killed since the fighting started on 7 October 2023, according to the NGO Save the Children, quoting numbers from Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry.
The figure amounts to almost 1 percent of the estimated 1,1 million children in Gaza.
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