On November 7, 2023, a popular social media influencer shared a video on X (formerly Twitter) about how food delivery services have transformed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
In the video, a delivery service personnel is seen descending from the sky to hand over a package to a customer.
Food delivery in UAE ?? pic.twitter.com/xwXBYUgUlp
— KALYJAY (@gyaigyimii) November 7, 2023
The video was captioned “Food delivery in UAE,” and has since garnered about 154k views, 4.3k likes, 524 retweets, and 34 quotes. The content of the video has sparked controversy, with varying opinions on its authenticity. Some viewers believed the depicted delivery method, while others questioned its reality and believability.
Fact-Check Ghana has verified the claim and presents the findings below.
Explanation: The said clip first appeared on the TikTok page of Noon, a United Arab Emirates (UAE) based e-commerce platform on November 3, 2023. Subsequently, it has amassed over 7.6 million views on TikTok.
Checks by Fact-Check Ghana revealed that the video is an edited commercial rather than an accurate representation of a real food delivery service.
Noon has a platform called Noon Minutes that provides a variety of local items like groceries, electronics, essential products, and more. Noon touts itself as one of the fastest delivery services, claiming that deliveries can be completed within 15 minutes.
In an interview, the Chief of Staff of Noon, Ali Kafil-Hussain, who also leads Noon Minutes, explained the modus operandi of the delivery service. He said the delivery service operates through its mini stores in every single community.
These stores usually contain thousands of products which are often processed within a few minutes and sent through dispatch riders or delivery vans.
“The trick is that the driver does not travel long distances. It’s actually a very short distance, which is how you get there so quickly. Actually, many people get their orders in much less time. Around 90% of our noon Minutes orders arrive in 15 minutes and under,” he said.
He did not mention anywhere in the interview that Noon has an aerial delivery service.
Also, Fact-Check Ghana contacted a resident in Dubai to confirm the existence of such a service in the UAE. The resident stated that there is no such thing.
“The kind of delivery here uses motorbikes. When you make the order, the company sends it through a dispatch rider to you. I haven’t seen any delivery person flying in to deliver items to anyone,” she said.
Fact-Check Ghana also reached out to a sales representative from Noon Minutes. The representative denied the existence of such a service and mentioned that there are no current plans for implementing aerial deliveries. The representative committed to updating when such services become available.
“Currently, we don’t have this. In future, if we have that we will let you know,” he said.
Fact-Check Ghana’s check, therefore, did not find any evidence to support the existence of a delivery service using aerial means in the UAE. It is only a commercial that was used by Noon Minutes to depict and emphasise the quick and efficient delivery service it claims to offer.
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