Video shows water cannon at Kenya protest, not US police crackdown

"VIDEO: The way they treated pr0testers who are blocking traffic in the USA," says a February 4, 2025 Threads post with more than 11,000 likes.

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Screenshot from Threads taken February 12, 2025

The same video and claim have spread elsewhere on Threads, Facebook and Instagram.

The post does not refer to a specific incident, but two days before it went up, a crowd of demonstrators blocked off California's 101 Freeway, protesting immigration officials' large-scale deportations and restricting traffic in America's second-largest city for hours.

County prosecutors have charged a man for throwing books onto traffic on the road and reportedly damaging a car, but a keyword search produced no results indicating law enforcement used water cannons to move the crowds. Local media reported that most protesters moved off the highway in the afternoon and gathered near Los Angeles city hall.

Police did intervene in the evening to scatter the protesters, but available photos and videos do not show they used water cannons anytime that day. AFP found no evidence indicating the use of water cannons, which under California and local law require specific authorization and training to be deployed.

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Protesters block the 101 Freeway in a rally against President Donald Trump's deportation plans on February 2, 2025 in Los Angeles, California (GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / MARIO TAMA)

Video from Kenya

A reverse image search using keyframes from the protest video revealed a Facebook user posted the same footage on June 28, 2024, and indicates it was taken in Kenya (archived here).

June protests in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, over a proposed tax hike turned deadly after police and troops deployed water cannons, tear gas, and rubber bullets and reportedly used live ammunition against demonstrators. Human rights watchdogs and opposition leaders accused law enforcement of unleashing inappropriate force on the crowds.

AFP photos from Nairobi on June 25, 2024, show police using water cannons.

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Kenya Police officers move in formation next to water cannon trucks as they clash with protesters during a strike to protest against tax hikes in downtown Nairobi, on June 25, 2024 (AFP / LUIS TATO)

Kenyan President William Ruto scrapped the tax bill after the protests, but officials reintroduced parts of the legislation in January.

A search on X for similar June 2024 protest footage in Nairobi revealed a post showing protestors standing in front of the same blue building and city square as in the footage posted online. About 24 seconds into the video, there is a sign reading "Cardinal Otunga St," which is located in the capital's central business district (archived here).

Visiting that location on Street View using Google Maps shows the same infrastructure and signs as in the protest footage posted online (archived here).

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Screenshots from Facebook taken February 12, 2025 with elements highlighted by AFP

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Screenshot from Google Maps with elements highlighted by AFP

AFP has debunked other false claims about US politics here.