The Marrakech Police Prefecture took prompt and serious action on Sunday, June 14, in response to a viral video circulating on social media. The footage depicted a restaurant owner escorting a foreign tourist away from his establishment, sparking outrage and claims that the tourist had fallen victim to a scam, allegedly being charged an exorbitant price for a meal that was misrepresented as a "pizza."
However, initial findings from the investigation have significantly challenged this narrative. The National Security services in Marrakech reported that they had not received any complaints or reports pertaining to the issues highlighted in the online comments prior to the video's release. Consequently, an immediate verification process was initiated to identify the restaurant owner and gather his account of the events.
Preliminary investigation results indicate that the incident occurred over a week before the Eid al-Adha festival. According to the restaurant owner, he had refused entry to the tourist due to her obvious state of intoxication and erratic behavior. Investigators have clarified that the events were not related to the sale of an overpriced meal, countering the widespread claims on social media.
On-site checks further revealed that the restaurant in question does not even offer pizzas on its menu. This fact directly contradicts the comments accompanying the video, which suggested that the tourist had overpaid for such a dish.
This incident serves as a poignant reminder of the critical importance of verifying information before disseminating it online. In Marrakech, as in other parts of the world, the virality of a video does not suffice to establish the truth of the events depicted.
As reported by lobservateur.info.
