As Israel retaliated to an unprecedented attack by Gaza-based Hamas militants with a relentless bombardment of the Palestinian territory, a number of celebrities spoke out about the conflict which has killed thousands on both sides. A video viewed millions of times on TikTok, however, does not show the football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo removing Coca-Cola bottles at a press conference as a gesture of support for Palestinians. It in fact shows Ronaldo expressing a preference for water before speaking to the media in June 2021.

“Don’t place Coca-Cola in front of me, because I know it’s a Jewish product,” reads Indonesian-language text on a TikTok video shared on October 16, 2023.

It is presented as a quote from the Portuguese footballing great, who currently plays for Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr.

The video shows him removing two Coke bottles from the camera’s view and replacing them with a bottle of water. An Israeli flag is superimposed above the soft drink bottles while a Palestinian one hovers above the water bottle.

Ronaldo is inaudible, but as his lips move, a speech bubble superimposed above his head says: “Palestine”.

The video’s English-language caption says: “Ronaldo speak up Palestine.”

The 21-second clip has been viewed more than 9.8 million times.

© AFP

The video has been viewed more than 5,200 times after it also appeared with a similar claim elsewhere on TikTok here, here and here.

Similar posts circulated in English, Malaysian and Spanish.

The posts were uploaded in the days after Hamas gunmen stormed across Gaza’s border with Israel on October 7, 2023, in a surprise attack that sent the region spiralling into war.

The militants killed more than 1,400 people — most of them civilians — and took more than 220 people hostage, according to Israel.

In response to the deadliest attack in its history, Israel flattened neighbourhoods in the Gaza Strip in a series of air strikes, killing more than 8,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry in the territory.

Some celebrities have expressed horror over the violence, with Bono, Gigi Hadid, Madonna and a slew of others speaking up, AFP reported.

Comments on the clip of Ronaldo suggest some TikTok users believed his gesture was related to the conflict.

“Full respect to CR,” one comment reads, referring to Ronaldo. “U don’t have to be Muslim to support Palestine.”

Another said: “I really salute you for this CR.”

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The incident, however, took place more than two years before the current flare-up in violence in the Middle East, and Ronaldo made no mention of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Euro 2020 press conference

A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the video showed the footage was filmed on June 14, 2021.

The original clip was shared by various media outlets, including British newspaper The Telegraph on its YouTube channel here (archived link).

The clip shows Ronaldo and Portugal’s national team manager Fernando Santos at a press conference during the Euro 2020 tournament in Budapest, which was postponed for a year by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The press conference was held before Portugal’s opening match against Hungary.

Instead of saying “Palestine” as the posts allege, Ronaldo says “agua” — the Portuguese word for water — appearing to encourage people to opt for the natural choice over Coke.

There is no mention of Israel, Palestinians or supposed Jewish products.

Analysts said Ronaldo’s actions showed sports stars are increasingly rejecting sponsors’ products that do not correspond to their personal values.

Below is a screenshot comparison between the video in the false post (left) and the genuine video from The Telegraph (right):

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The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational that is publicly listed, meaning it is owned by thousands of shareholders and investors around the world. According to the firm’s Australian website, the largest shareholder globally is US businessman Warren Buffett.

For more than three decades, Buffett, through his investment company Berkshire Hathaway, has owned between 6 percent and 10 percent of The Coca Cola Company (archived links here and here).

AFP has also debunked other claims that Ronaldo has weighed in on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including here, here, here and here.