Video shows protesters clashing with S. Africa police, not Nigerians celebrating semifinal win

"There was a wild celebration by Nigerians in Johannesburg after their victory over Bafana Bafana in the AFCON. Police tried to intervene by they were overpowered (sic)!", reads an X post published on February 8, 2024.

The account that published the post is affiliated with the anti-migrant vigilante group "Operation Dudula" -- "to force out" in isiZulu -- which is accused of xenophobic rhetoric and spreading disinformation (archived here).

The movement-turned-political party has registered to contest South Africa’s general election in a few months (archived here and here).

In the 30-second clip filmed from an inner city highrise building, police officers are seen retreating from a large group of people pelting them with rocks.

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A screenshot of the false X post, taken on February 12, 2024

The video has been used out of context before, including in 2020 where it circulated alongside false claims that it showed a protest against Covid-19 vaccines (archived here).

The replies to the latest post indicate that most people were aware the video was old.

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Screenshot of replies to the post, taken on February 12, 2024

One response includes a screenshot of the video as it appears on YouTube dated August 1, 2019 (archived here).

“I reported you for false news! It is people like you that cause trouble with the crap you post,” reads the reply.

Football frenzy

AFCON 2024 was hailed as one of the most exciting editions in recent memory. Nigeria beat South Africa 4-2 in a penalty shootout after a semifinal thriller in Bouake, Ivory Coast on February 7, 2024 (archive here).

The tournament ended with hosts Ivory Coast lifting the trophy for the third time, after beating Nigeria in the final. South Africa took the bronze with victory over the Democratic Republic of Congo in the playoff for third and fourth places (archived here and here).

Nigerian football fans worldwide were seen celebrating the semifinal win over South Africa’s Bafana Bafana, as the team is known (archived here). 

However, the video circulating is unrelated to AFCON.

Hawkers protest video

A keyword search of “Joburg CBD unrest 2019 eNCA” -- guided by the screenshot in the replies -- quickly finds the YouTube video published by the South African news broadcaster eNCA (archived here). 

Titled “Joburg CBD unrest”, the news report and the clip are identical, featuring South African armoured police vehicles, a red roof, a green roof on the left and a red sign on the right.

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Screenshots marked to show that the video circulating (left) is the same as the 2019 news report (right)

On August 1, 2019, South African police said a large crowd of foreign nationals attacked members of various law enforcement agencies with objects including bricks and petrol bombs (archived here). 

This was during an “operation targeting counterfeit goods in the Johannesburg central business district”.

“Due to the volatility of the situation, police retreated to avoid a situation where they would be forced to use live ammunition,” read the statement. “Of priority at this point was ensuring that there was no bloodshed or death.”

Photos show 2019 protests

A Nigerian Facebook account known for spreading disinformation shared three pictures of riots on February 8, 2024, alleging that they showed South Africans attacking Nigerians.

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Screenshot showing the false post, taken on February 21, 2024

The post was published by “Igbo Times Magazine”, which has been the subject of previous AFP investigations for sharing disinformation. 

The same claim was also shared elsewhere on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) including here and here.

Using reverse image searches, AFP Fact Check found that all three photos have been online since at least 2019. 

The first picture is of  South African protesters who allegedly looted shops owned by foreign nationals in Johannesburg in September 2019 (archived here). 

The photo was published in the Guardian newspaper and credited to AFP journalist Michele Spatari (archived here).

The photo can be found in AFP’s photo archives and was captured in Johannesburg’s suburb of Turffontein.

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Screenshot showing the photo in AFP's photo archive

The second image (archived here) is credited to the Associated Press and features protesters in Nigeria’s capital Abuja throwing rocks at policemen during a retaliatory attack on South African businesses in September 2019. 

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Screenshot showing the original photo in the AP photo archives

The third and final image in the posts shows cars burning during rioting in Johannesburg. It was published in an article by the South African-based news site Citizen (archived here).

The 2019  xenophobic protests in South Africa were characterised by a series of violent demonstrations and attacks targeting foreign nationals, particularly from other African countries (archived here). The protests were sparked by high levels of unemployment, poverty, and inequality, as well as perceptions that foreign nationals were taking jobs and resources away from South African citizens.

AFP Fact Check recently debunked another video that some claimed showed Nigerian AFCON celebrations (including here and here), but it instead showed a May 2023 march in the Dominican Republic.

Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch flagged xenophobic sentiment and violence against Africans and Asians as a concern in its 2024 report on South Africa ahead of elections (archived here and here).