Video shows Borussia Dortmund fans in Germany, not rally in support of monarchies

"People of England are calling for every country to adopt a monarchy because politicians are corrupt and have never provided for the people," reads part of the Thai-language text on a Facebook reel shared on September 23, 2024.

"Thai politicians are evil... is it time to come out? We're always ready."

The clip, which was viewed more than 425,000 times, shows a crowd of people wearing yellow shirts and waving yellow and black flags chanting in unison as they march down a tree-lined street.

In Thailand, yellow is often associated with supporters of the country's royal family. 

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Screenshot of the false Facebook post, captured on September 30, 2024

The clip surfaced after Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the heiress of Thailand's most famous political dynasty, was sworn in as prime minister on September 6 (archived link).

Paetongtarn is the youngest daughter of controversial former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose power struggle with the country's conservative royalist-military establishment has dominated Thai politics for decades.

Thaksin, a 75-year-old telecoms billionaire and one-time Manchester City owner, is loved by millions of poorer Thais for his social welfare policies in the early 2000s. However, he has long been despised by elites who accuse him of corruption and wanting to smash Thailand's social order.

The clip was also shared elsewhere on Facebook and similar videos were posted on TikTok here and here.

But it does not show people calling for all countries to become monarchies or bemoaning corrupt politicians.

Football fans

Reverse image and keyword searches on Google led to the same footage posted on TikTok on May 2 (archived link).

Its caption tags the official accounts of German football club Borussia Dortmund and the Champions League.

Below is a screenshot comparison between the falsely shared clip (left) and the footage posted on May 2 (right):

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Screenshot comparison between the falsely shared clip (left) and the footage posted on May 2 (right)

The video was uploaded a day after Dortmund beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final (archived link).

The fans can be heard chanting in German and French, "We have finally seen all the greats, crossed the whole continent for you, and every time it was worth standing by your side. The journey will go on forever. Borussia Dortmund, go, go!"

The footage corresponds to Google Street View imagery from Dortmund of a street leading to the club's stadium, Signal Iduna Park (archived links here and here).

Below are screenshot comparisons of the a shop and a house seen in both the video (left) and Google Street View (right), highlighted by AFP:

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Screenshot comparisons of the a shop and a house seen in both the video (left) and Google Street View (right), highlighted by AFP

There have been no official reports of people in England calling for every country to become a monarchy, as of October 2.

AFP has previously debunked a false claim about a royalist rally here.