Video of New Zealand govt anthem featuring 99 names of God played in church

Rating Justification

The iVerify Pakistan team investigated this content and determined that it is false.

To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan conducted reverse image searches to trace the original event in the clip.

A video was circulated since March 18, 2025, with the claim that it features an anthem containing the 99 names of God created by the New Zealand government and performed at a church. However, the video actually shows a performance by the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Choir at a concert held on May 29, 2011, in Turkiye.

HOW IT STARTED

On March 19, 2025, the iVerify Pakistan team was alerted by the public to verify the authenticity of a circulating claim.

A WhatsApp forward message contained a 3-minute 29-second clip, appearing to be a screenshot of a performance at an event.

The forwarded message read: “The New Zealand government created an ‘anthem’ that was set to music and sung in front of thousands at Abadala Church. It features the 99 special names of ‘Allah’. Listening to these names in a sweet voice brings tears to the eyes … superb New Zealand government.”

Additionally, a 2-minute clip was shared by a pro-military account, based on the user’s past posts, showing the same performance. The post received 84,600 views.

The caption of this post closely resembled the message in the WhatsApp forward.

The same clip was also found to be previously shared in 2023 with similar claims as seen here, here and here. It was also circulated earlier in 2020.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated due to the public’s keen interest in matters concerning religion and Islam and to satisfy the public’s request for verification.

A keyword search conducted to determine whether the New Zealand government had created or produced such an anthem yielded no credible information.

A close examination of the logo visible in the top left corner of the viral video showed that read: “TRT Canlı”. Additionally, the text at the bottom right of the video read: “Saraybosna Fatih Sultan Mehmet Korosu Konseri” (Sarajevo Fatih Sultan Mehmet Choir Concert).

A keyword search for the above terms yielded a video titled ‘Saraybosna Fatih Sultan Mehmet Korosu Konseri – 2011-05-29,’ uploaded by the Turkish media channel TRT 11 years ago. The video documents a concert held on May 29, 2011, at the Hagia Irene Museum (St. Irene Church) in Istanbul, Turkiye.

Out of the 102-minute-long clip, the specific segment begins at the 5:03-minute mark, where the lights turn to a red shade in both the viral and original videos, as shown in the collage below. Additionally, the logo in the top left corner remains the same in both screenshots.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that a video shows an anthem created by the New Zealand government featuring the 99 names of God that was performed at a church is false.

The viral clip is actually from a concert held on May 29, 2011, in Turkiye, featuring a performance by the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Choir at the Hagia Irene Museum.

Evidence and References

December 3, 2011, TRT Dailymotion video:
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xmq4pj