Niagara Falls lit up for Bibas family but online posts confuse details

Cars drive past the glowing waterfall as during the 38th annual Winter Festival of Lights in Niagara Falls, Ont., on Sunday, Dec. 6, 2020. Niagara Falls were lit up orange on Feb. 21, 2025 in memory of a slain Israeli family, however misleading social media posts gave the wrong day for the event and shared a photo from an unrelated illumination in 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

 NSD

Claims Niagara Falls lit up in orange in memory of a slain Israeli family on Feb. 26 appeared on social media Feb. 27. These claims are partly true but contain misleading information. The binational Niagara Falls Illumination Board, which operates the light shows at the falls, said the lighting took place five days earlier than claimed. The photo of the falls used in the posts is from 2021 and the falls' illumination light show schedule indicates there was no special illumination for the family on Feb. 26. The falls lit up for the Bibas family along with other New York state monuments on Feb. 21 after a directive from the governor. 

Thousands of Israelis lined the streets of Tel Aviv last Wednesday to mourn a mother and her two young sons, members of the Bibas family killed in captivity in the Gaza Strip.  

The next day, several social media accounts claimed Niagara Falls lit up in orange the night before to acknowledge the loss. 

The online posts included photos of the falls at night and they appear to be illuminated by an orange or yellow light. 

"Amazing to see Niagara Falls Tourism lit orange for the Bibas family last night," wrote the Consulate General of Israel for Toronto and Western Canada on its "Israel in Toronto" on Feb. 27, receiving more than 12,000 likes and hundreds of shares. 

Accounts posted about the falls' illumination on , with hundreds of likes, and , with thousands of likes. 

Rating: Partly true/misleading

The binational , which is responsible for the lights at the falls, said the lighting actually took place days earlier on Feb. 21 between 10:30 and 10:45 p.m.

The falls display a nightly light show featuring a variety of colours; separately, they may display certain colours as "special illuminations" to mark significant holidays or events. 

The falls' shows they did not light up orange last week; an suggests the planned illumination for the 26th was pink for Pink Shirt Day. 

The online posts use the same photo of the falls; the X and Threads photo seems to have a filter applied while the Facebook photo is darker, but details along the skyline and pattern of the mist match up in each photo. 

A reverse image search of the photo used in the posts shows it appeared online as early as 2021. 

An April 27, 2021 from the embassy of the Netherlands in Canada included the photo. 

In the accompanying caption, the embassy said the falls lit up orange for Koningsdag, or King's Day, a Dutch national holiday. 

A Feb. 21 from New York state governor Kathy Hochul said Niagara Falls would light up orange in memory of the Bibas family that evening along with 13 other state landmarks. 

A representative from the Niagara Falls Illumination Board said the lighting took place that evening. 

Sources

Melanie Lidman. Israelis bid farewell to Shiri Bibas and her 2 young sons killed in captivity in Gaza. The Associated Press via ºÃÉ«tvwebsite, Feb. 26, 2025 ()

Claims posted on Feb. 27, 2025 (), Feb. 27, 2025 (), and Feb. 27, 2025 ()

The Niagara Falls Illumination Board Celebrates a Century of Light, Niagara Parks , Feb. 24, 2025 ()

Niagara Falls , Niagara Parks website, accessed Feb. 28, 2025 ()Ìý

Niagara Parks Instagram from Feb. 26, 2025 ()

X of the Netherlands in Canada, April 27, 2021 ()

New York state , Feb. 21, 2025 ()

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