Footage shows Serbia's massive rally, not anti-Israel demonstration in Yemen

Published on September 27, 2025 at 05:45
2 min read
By Rimal FARRUKH, AFP Pakistan

Huthi rebels have vowed to avenge their leader's death after the group's prime minister was killed in an Israeli strike in August, but footage circulating online does not show an anti-Israel protest in the rebel-held capital Sanaa. The clip actually shows an anti-corruption rally in Serbia in March.

"Hundreds of thousands of Yemenis marched in the Ansarallah-controlled Yemeni city of Sanaa, demanding revenge on the Israeli government," reads an Urdu-language Facebook post published on September 1, 2025.

It also shares a video showing what appears to be large crowds on the streets.

Screenshot of the false post taken on September 24, with a red X added by AFP

The false post surfaced after Israel launched a strike in Sanaa and killed the group's prime minister, Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser Al-Rahawi, in an attack on August 28 (archived link).

Huthis leader Abdul Malik Al-Houthi said the group would keep launching attacks on Israel after the killing.

Israel attacked the rebel-held capital again on September 25, killing at least nine people and wounding more than 170, the group said, a day after the rebels launched a drone attack on southern Israel (archived link).

Since the war in Gaza began following Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, the Huthis have launched drone and missile strikes on Israel and Israel-linked shipping in the Red Sea, claiming solidarity with Palestinians.

Similar claims were shared elsewhere on Facebook, and X.

Anti-graft protest in Serbia

Reverse image searches using keyframes from the footage reveal a clip showing the same scene was posted on Reddit on March 15, 2025 with the description, "Biggest protests ever in Belgrade, Serbia, happening right now!" (archived link).

The video shows large crowds of people on the streets holding up their mobile phones with flashlights turned on.

Tens of thousands of protesters converged on the day in Serbia's capital, Belgrade, in one of the largest in a series of anti-corruption demonstrations (archived link).

The movement formed after 15 people were killed when a railway station roof collapsed in the city of Novi Sad in November 2024, igniting long-simmering bitterness over alleged corruption and lax oversight in construction projects.

Screenshot comparison with the false post (L) and the Reddit post (R) taken on September 24, 2025

AFP's videos and photos of the protest also match elements in the false posts.

Screenshot comparison of the protest as seen in the false video (L) and AFP footage (R) with similarities highlighted

Images on Google Maps Street View of Slavija Square in central Belgrade -- where the protest took place -- show the same buildings (archived link).

AFP has previously debunked the video in relation to claims concerning the arrest of Istanbul's former mayor, and other false claims linked to Huthi rebels.

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