Video does not show the King of Bahrain walking with a robot bodyguard
Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa speaks during a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, Sunday, May 21, 2017, in Riyadh. The Associated Press on Friday, July 21, 2023 reported on social media posts falsely claiming that a video shows the Persian Gulf ruler walking with his robot bodyguard. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
CLAIM: A video shows the King of Bahrain being escorted by a robotic bodyguard.
AP ASSESSMENT: False. The footage does not show King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, but another man walking past a robot-costumed entertainer featured at a 2019 exhibition in the United Arab Emirates.
THE FACTS: Social media users are sharing a video claiming to depict the Persian Gulf king closely guarded by a robotic bodyguard as he strides past an astonished crowd.
The clip shows a man dressed in a blue traditional Arabic robe and white headscarf walking through a convention floor with a giant, silver robot clad in a military-style vest trailing behind.
“The King of Bahrain has a fully loaded robot bodyguard worth $7.4 million,” the text on the first panel of the post on Instagram reads.
But the clip, which has been circulating online for years, does not depict the island nation’s ruler, nor does it show a real robot.
The Associated Press has previously debunked Spanish-language social media posts falsely claiming the video showed another wealthy Middle Eastern ruler -- the sheik of Dubai -- walking with his robot bodyguard.
A reverse image search at the time showed the recording dates to February 2019 and depicts the robot character featured at the International Defense Exhibition.
The annual event, which is meant to showcase defense industry-related products, took place in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates that month.
The eight foot tall robot, named “Titan,” entertained exhibit attendees by speaking in both English and Arabic, according to a local news report at the time.
Titan has appeared on Britain’s Got Talent and Big Brother, among other television shows, conferences and live performances, according to the website of Cyberstein Robots, which also offers other robotic entertainers that can be booked for special events.
The United Kingdom-based company and Bahrain’s ministries of foreign affairs and information affairs didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment Friday.
But a closer look at the widely shared video shows the man in blue doesn’t resemble Bahrain’s ruler.
For one thing, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, as a photo included in the post shows, favors a mustache while the man in the video sports a full beard.
Additionally, Titan can be seen sporting the UAE flag on its chest and arms.
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Associated Press reporter Marcos Martinez Chacon in Monterrey, Mexico contributed to this story.
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This is part of AP’s effort to address widely shared misinformation, including work with outside companies and organizations to add factual context to misleading content that is circulating online. Learn more about fact-checking at AP.
