Image of crowded boulevard with UK flags falsely tied to far-right rally

"Buckingham Palace Road London.. Filled with British Patriots who have had Enough of 'Useless Politicians'," reads a September 14 X post by Brian Tamaki, a fundamentalist Christian leader of a conservative New Zealand church, which features the fabricated image. 

"Pretty much applies to New Zealand," he said in the post, which got reposted more than 100 times.

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Screenshot of the false post taken on September 24, 2025, with a red X added by AFP

Some of Tamaki's followers appeared to take it at face value, marvelling that he was there and saying "thank you for being our ambassador".

The protest in London, organised by anti-immigration activist Tommy Robinson, was one of the largest far-right demonstrations in Britain's history (archived link). 

Its attendance was bolstered in part by far-right supporters who wanted to eulogise Charlie Kirk, the American conservative activist killed during a university event on September 10. 

The issue of immigration has been a growing point of contention around the world, including Australia -- where AFP has previously fact-checked several claims related to it. 

An Australian far-right outlet also shared the image on Facebook and Instagram in posts falsely claiming it showed the protest that drew over seven million views in total. 

Similar claims with the image circulated across multiple platforms in other languages, including Greek, German, Spanish, Chinese and French.

However, the image of the crowded tree-lined boulevard filled with people carrying flags does not depict the march, and was likely created using AI. 

Distorted faces

A reverse image search found a higher-resolution version of the image, shared in a post on X dated August 31 -- nearly two weeks before the September 13 rally. The X account has been suspended ever since.

A closer examination of the image reveals clear visual inconsistencies typical of AI-generated content, like blurry and distorted faces, as well as the flags appearing to be blended together. 

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Screenshots of visual discrepancies in the fabricated image, with the distorted faces and the blended flags highlighted by a magnifying tool and yellow squares added by AFP

Another giveaway that the image is false is the building in the background, which resembles the Arc de Triomphe in Paris (archived link).

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Comparison shots of the fabricated image (left) with an AFP photo taken of Paris' Arc de Triomphe on July 14, 2025, with the red X and square added by AFP

According to reports, protesters had marched from Westminster Bridge before converging near Downing Street for speeches by far-right figures (archived link).

Other fact-checking organisations, including Lead Stories, also fact-checked the image in early September (archived link).

AFP has fact-checked other claims related to AI here.