YouTube celebrity Adam Saleh when viral Wednesday morning when he posted a video claiming to show he was being kicked off a Delta Airlines flight because he “spoke Arabic” on the phone and to a friend.
The claim quickly took off, and media outlets reported the allegation without question. But Saleh has a history of hoax videos, including being caught just last week by another airline claiming he was lying about “smuggling” himself onto a plane by hiding in a suitcase.
Saleh’s claim of racism has garnered more than 250,000 retweets.
We got kicked out of a @Delta airplane because I spoke Arabic to my mom on the phone and with my friend slim… WTFFFFFFFF please spread pic.twitter.com/P5dQCE0qos
— Adam Saleh (@omgAdamSaleh) December 21, 2016
It was reported immediately, without question, by the UK Guardian newspaper:
YouTube star kicked off Delta Airlines flight ‘for speaking Arabic’ https://t.co/fkFnDl30Zm
— The Guardian (@guardian) December 21, 2016
Just last week, however, Saleh claimed, “I Smuggled Myself On A Plane To Another City and IT WORKED!! (IN A SUITCASE).”
NEW VIDEO IS UP!!
I Smuggled Myself On A Plane To Another City and IT WORKED!! (IN A SUITCASE)https://t.co/qkNzQR7eXW— Adam Saleh (@omgAdamSaleh) December 13, 2016
This claim was quickly debunked by the airline, Tiger Air, which had surveillance video of Saleh boarding the plane.
@omgAdamSaleh Nice try Adam, but definitely a few inconsistencies with this vid, namely the fact we have footage of you boarding the plane!
— Tigerair Australia (@TigerairAU) December 14, 2016
This wasn’t the first time Saleh was caught in a hoax.
In 2014, Saleh admitted to staging a video hoax of police harassment of Muslim men as a “dramatization” to “raise awareness for Racial Profiling.”
The original description of his video did not mention the incident was staged, instead it read, “We were filming another video for our channel with our cultural clothing but we kept getting followed by Police. So, we decided to film this social experiment on racial profiling. Too many innocent people get stopped and frisked every day because of what they wear or their skin color.”
Saleh has 1.6 million YouTube subscribers.
Delta Airlines says there was a “disturbance” on the plane and 20 passengers complained. They are investigating the incident.
@jnambowa Two customers were removed from this flight and later rebooked after a disturbance in the cabin resulted in more than 20… 1/3
— Delta (@Delta) December 21, 2016
@jnambowa …customers expressing their discomfort. We’re conducting a full review to understand what transpired. We are taking… 2/3
— Delta (@Delta) December 21, 2016
@jnambowa …allegations of discrimination very seriously; our culture requires treating others with respect. *MR 3/3
— Delta (@Delta) December 21, 2016
Saleh, for his part, is sticking to his story and heading to his lawyer’s office after he reaches his destination.
UPDATE: were taking off right now and heading to our lawyer once in NYC. Any inquiries email: info@adamsalehworldwide.com
— Adam Saleh (@omgAdamSaleh) December 21, 2016
