Video shows independence day march in Poland, not far-right UK rally

Published on September 19, 2025 at 10:19
3 min read
By Sammy HEUNG, AFP Hong Kong

After one of the largest-ever far-right protests in Britain, an old video was shared in posts falsely claiming it depicted the "Unite the Kingdom" rally in London. The drone footage previously circulated in posts about an independence day march in Poland's capital Warsaw in November 2023 and corresponds to Google Street View imagery of the route taken by attendees.

"The biggest demonstration in the history of Europe. Over one million people joined the Unite the Kingdom nationalism protest in London," reads part of the simplified Chinese caption of a Weibo video posted on September 14, 2025.

"Their major demand is 'to take back the United Kingdom' -- with a focus on freedom of speech, national security, social security, and immigration issues."

The video shows an aerial view of protesters waving flags and flares as they pack a bridge and a city street.

Screenshot of the false Weibo post captured on September 19, 2025, with a red X added by AFP

The video was also shared in similar Douyin, YouTube and X posts, as well as by Chinese media outlets in posts after up to 150,000 people had gathered at a far-right rally in the British capital on September 13 (archived link).

Attendees -- many draped in English and British flags -- rallied near Downing Street for speeches by figures associated with the far right from across Europe and North America, including billionaire X owner Elon Musk.

Some attached pictures of slain right-wing American activist Charlie Kirk to their placards, while other signs included slogans like "stop the boats" and derided Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Police said they made 25 arrests and 26 officers were injured as clashes broke out after some attendees tried to enter so-called "sterile areas" near counter-protesters.

The video circulating online, however, does not show the London protest.

A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the falsely shared video led to the same footage posted by a Poland-based user on X on November 11, 2023 (archived link).

The watermark in the top-right corner of the falsely shared video also matches the X user's handle.

The video's caption says it shows drone footage of Poland's annual independence day march: "Amazing scenes as hundreds of thousands took to the street to celebrate Poland!"

Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared video (left) and the video shared on X in November 2023 (right)

The same user also posted an uncropped version of the footage on YouTube (archived link).

AFP reported the independence day rally in Poland's capital Warsaw was attended by tens of thousands of far-right supporters who chanted anti-European Union slogans amid a sea of red and white Polish flags (archived link).

Photos of the 2023 rally taken by AFP similarly show participants waving the national flag and holding up flares.

Irish broadcaster RTE reported that participants followed a route taken each November 11 for the past decade which took them across Poniatowski Bridge before they gathered at Poland’s National Stadium to hear speeches from far-right leaders (archived link).

The falsely shared video also corresponds to Google Street View imagery of the Poniatowski Bridge (archived link).

Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared video (left) and Google Street View imagery of the Poniatowski Bridge (right), with corresponding features highlighted by AFP

AFP previously debunked another claim that misrepresented the same video as an anti-government protest in 2024.

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