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Claims of a Christmas tree being set on fire outside the New York Fox News headquarters have recently circulated online. It has also been reported that it was burned down by Pro-Palestine protestors. This comes in the midst of the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict. Despite the allegations going viral online, they are far from the truth. A tree was not burned down in front of the news outlet's building.
On December 25, popular X (formerly known as Twitter) page @tracker_deep claimed:
“PRO PALESTINIAN DEMONSTRATORS SET CHRISTMAS TREE ON FIRE OUTSIDE OF FOX NEWS HQ IN NEW YORK”
A video that was attached with the tweet showcased a decorated Christmas tree being engulfed in flames as law enforcement looked upon the shocking occurrence.
Tracker Deep claimed that the video was taken from fellow X page Raws Alerts. At the time of writing this article, the tweet has made its rounds across social media platforms and had amassed over 205K views.
As convincing as the tweet looked, the claims are not true.
A Christmas tree was not burned down by Pro-Palestine demonstrators outside the Fox News New York headquarters
Raws Alerts was one of the many who took to X to clarify that although the video was real, it was not taken this year. They revealed that the Christmas tree in question was set on fire by a homeless man in December 2021.
X user @StrongarmZed also noted that protestors did not set the Fox News Christmas tree on fire.
Several news outlets reported on the arson case in 2021. According to Pix 11, Fox News Security found the man in question climbing the 50-foot Christmas tree that was set up outside the news outlet’s building.
He was quick to run away from the scene after the tree had caught fire. Firefighters managed to extinguish the flames and no injuries were reported in the 2021 case.
Law enforcement revealed that the arsonist, Craig Tamanaha, was arrested on a slew of charges including criminal mischief, reckless endangerment, arson, criminal nuisance that endangered others, disorderly conduct and criminal tampering.
The exact cause for the fire remained unknown at the time of writing this article.
Hence, it is safe to say that no pro-Palestine protestor burned down Fox News’ Christmas tree this year.
Pro-Palestine protestors call for the cancelation of Christmas
Non-profit organization Shut It Down for Palestine has taken to the streets of the U.S. to chant- “No Xmas as Usual in a Genocide.” They gathered around several popular shopping centers to call for a boycott of the December festivities. The group took to social media and posted:
“This Christmas, occupation forces are sniping Christians sheltering in their besieged churches in Gaza and Christians in Bethlehem have declared that their celebrations are canceled. People everywhere must continue to declare that there can be no Christmas as usual during a genocide.”
Echoing the same sentiments, pro-Palestine groups People’s Forum and Palestinian Youth Movement recently held a rally in Manhattan’s luxury shopping district where protestors shouted- "While you’re shopping, bombs are dropping.”
