Iraq oil ministry says viral video dates to Maliki-era archives

BAGHDAD, Iraq — A video circulating on Iraqi digital platforms, claimed to show conditions inside the Oil Ministry, has been verified as archival footage from previous governments, Iraqi officials said. According to government sources, the footage was recorded during a period when the ministry was run by the State of Law Coalition of former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The same officials said the clip dates to the tenures of ministers Hussein al-Shahristani and Abdulkarim Luaibi, and was captured before Hayyan Abdul-Ghani took over the post. They added that the material resurfaced years after it was first recorded, reigniting debate over the use of digital campaigns to repackage archive content as current news. The sources said the male employee shown in the footage had already been retired, while the female employee had been transferred to another position under an administrative decision at the time. The officials stressed that the file dates back years and should be assessed in its original context. The same source noted that the reappearance of old material does not point to any particular political or governmental body. No further details were immediately available.