Fact check: Iranian hackers did not leak a video of FBI chief Kash Patel dancing; it is unrelated

Multiple people and accounts shared a video on several social media platforms on March 29, allegedly showing a leaked clip of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel dancing. However, the video is old and shows an unidentified man.

Iran-linked hackers named ‘Handala’ on March 27 claimed they had accessed Patel’s personal email inbox, publishing photographs of the director and other documents to the internet. A Justice Department official confirmed that Patel’s email had been breached and said the material published online appeared authentic.

The development occurred amid the conflict that began on February 28 when the United States and Israel carried out coordinated airstrikes targeting Iran’s military infrastructure, including missile systems and nuclear-related facilities. The strikes marked a significant escalation in tensions between the countries, following a period of heightened regional instability and previous confrontations.

On March 29, an Indian user shared a video on X with the following caption: “The only leaked Video from Kash Patel’s Gmail account.”

The post gained 4.2 million views.

A Pakistani user, who appears to be a PTI supporter, shared the same video with the following caption: “Iranian hacker releases video of US FBI officer Kash Patel, all of them belong to the same fraternity, paedophile and dancer.”

The post gained 6 million views.

An American user, who appears to be a pro-Democrat, also shared the same video with the caption: “Director of the FBI, Kash Patel’s account hacked. Video leaked online. What does that say about the ability of the current FBI director to not click on phishing emails?”

The post garnered 2.3 million views.

An American account, describing itself as a journalist, also shared the same video on X in a similar context. The post was captioned: “Hey, Kash Patel, is this you? You’re a fancy boy, aren’t ya?”

The post gained 560,000 views.

A Facebook page also shared the same video with the following caption: “In a stunning cyber blow, Iranian hackers have leaked a private dance video of FBI Director Kash Patel following the breach of his personal Gmail account. The video, which shows a younger Kash Patel dancing energetically, was selectively released by the Iran-linked hacking group ‘Handala Hack Team’ as part of their ongoing campaign.”

The video racked up 520,000 views.

The video was widely shared by multiple other users on several social media platforms such as TikTok; X, as can be seen here, here, here, here, here, here and here; Facebook, as seen here, here, here and here; and YouTube, as seen here, here, and here.

The posts above collectively accumulated more than 420,000 views.

The video was also shared on Instagram, as can be seen here, here, here, here, and here; collectively gaining 440,000 views.

A fact check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality and keen public interest in the matter.

A reverse image search using keyframes from the video yielded the same clip shared on December 26, 2022, by Indian media outlet Times Now in a news article titled: “Man’s enthusiastic dance to celebrate wife leaving for her home will crack you up! [Watch video]”.

According to the article, the man could not contain the joy of his wife moving to her house for a few days.

The same video was also shared as far as August 6, 2023, on YouTube, as can be seen here, here and here.

Furthermore, a keyword search conducted to determine whether any credible mainstream international or American media outlets had reported the video in the same context yielded no results.

Therefore, the claim that a video leaked by Iranian hackers shows FBI Director Patel dancing is false. The video is from December 2022 and shows an unidentified man.