Escalator mishap video falsely linked to Canadian newcomers
- Published on December 15, 2025 at 23:08
- 2 min read
- By Gwen Roley, AFP Canada
A video of people struggling to ascend an escalator spread widely online in posts claiming it showed immigrants in Canada failing to adapt to life in the country. This is false; geolocation revealed the footage was captured in Ilorin, Nigeria.
"Immigrants coming to Canada battle their first obstacle, an escalator. They will be ready for drivers licenses in 2 weeks," says a December 3, 2025 post on X.
The clip shows a group of Black people, many wearing head scarves, hesitating at the bottom of an escalator traveling upstairs before a woman and child step on. Both lose their balance, and the woman falls down the moving stairs.
Similar claims that the footage depicted confused immigrants have spread on TikTok, Instagram, X and Facebook since at least October 2025. Some posts asked: "How are people like this supposed to be a benefit to Canada?"
Other posts in English and other languages, such as Hungarian, shared the footage with commentary that opposed immigration without specifying a country.
Since Canada's long-standing pro-immigration consensus flipped in 2023, AFP has debunked numerous claims accusing newcomers of committing crimes or abusing social benefits (archived here).
The escalator video is similarly misrepresented.
AFP traced the video to a TikTok account that originally shared it September 1, without any mention of Canada (archived here). The account has since changed its handle.
The video content library VBear, which is licensing the clip, said the scene shows the group using an escalator for the first time in Ilorin, Nigeria (archived here).
AFP geolocated the footage to the Emirate Mall in Ilorin (archived here). The floor pattern and retractable barrier belt surrounding the escalator match those in photos attached to the location on Google Maps, as does the upper railing labeled "Emirate Mall."
Read more of AFP's reporting on misinformation in Canada here.
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