Fact check: Video of man in balaclava holding knives was filmed in the US
A social media user posted a video of a man with knives and said: ‘Welcome to modern Britain.’
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Your support makes all the difference.A social media user posted a video showing a man wearing a balaclava and holding knives on public transport alongside the words: “Woah. A terrified woman films a man on a train carrying two knives. Welcome to modern Britain. Doctor or Engineer Sir Keir?”
Evaluation
The video was filmed on Atlanta’s rapid transit system in the United States, not on public transport in Britain.
The facts
There is a poster in one of the corners of the video which appears to read: “Walmart. Vine City Market. Now open.”
The Vine City Walmart is in Atlanta and re-opened earlier this year – and was expanded – after being closed in December 2022 due to fire damage. The video was most likely filmed at some point in 2024.
There are no Walmart shops in the UK. For many years, Walmart owned UK supermarket Asda. However, in 2021, Walmart finalised the sale of Asda to the Issa brothers and TDR Capital.
The blue seats and the carriage layout in the social media video appear to match the interior of carriages operated by the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority in Atlanta (Marta).
A video posted to YouTube in July 2023 shows what is likely the exact carriage seen in the video of the man with the knife. The interior layout appears to match and the carriage number – 634 – can be seen in the background of both videos.
The video was found by Googling “Marta Atlanta 634”.
Links
X post (archived post and video)
Vine City Walmart information (archived)
Vine City Walmart closure information (archived)
Walmart location information (archived)
Asda sold by Walmart information (archived)
Interior of Atlanta carriage (archived)