False story says archaeologists unearth Exodus evidence

By The Associated Press

Archaeologists did not unearth the bones of Egyptian soldiers, weapons and chariots to prove the biblical account of the parting of the Red Sea, despite the false claims of many stories reporting otherwise.

A story first published by a satire site, World News Daily Report, and then picked up by many other outlets, claimed scientists led by Professor Abdel Muhammad Gader of Cairo University found the bones, and chariots, in the Gulf of Suez.

The university says in an email to The Associated Press that it has no professor by that name and it hasn’t been involved in any excavations there.

The original version of the story included a photo of divers holding a skull. It was taken from a 2014 National Geographic article about an ancient skeleton discovered in a flooded Mexican cave.

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This is part of The Associated Press’ ongoing effort to fact-check misinformation that is shared widely online, including work with Facebook to identify and reduce the circulation of false stories on the platform.

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