Concert security clip falsely shared as Chinese anti-protest training
- Published on January 16, 2026 at 10:28
- 3 min read
- By Caroline LIN, AFP Hong Kong
Following the ouster of Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro and the eruption of nationwide protests in Iran, a video was shared in social media posts falsely claiming it showed crackdown drills in China. However, the footage depicts concert security personnel regrouping after the conclusion of a show, and there have been no official reports of China conducting suppression exercises in response to recent global geopolitical tensions.
"Venezuela and Iran have touched a nerve with the Chinese Communist Party, prompting crackdown drills across the country," reads a traditional Chinese post on X on January 10, 2026.
The accompanying video shows columns of people dressed in black uniforms standing on a street, some of whom are carrying riot shields.
On January 3, Venezuela's leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife were extracted from Caracas by US forces amid intense bombing, and they pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking and other charges in a New York court two days later (archived here and here).
Following the US raid, Venezuelans who fled economic collapse and repression under Maduro massed in streets worldwide to celebrate the strongman's ouster (archived link).
Meanwhile in the Middle East, spontaneous protests triggered by economic grievances have erupted across Iran, posing the biggest challenge to its theocratic system in years (archived link).
Similar posts with the video circulated widely across Facebook, TikTok and Threads, with many social media users appearing to believe it was portraying rehearsals by Chinese authorities -- widely regarded as having little tolerance for dissent within the country -- for stamping out protests.
One commenter wrote: "CCP is gearing up for another Tiananmen Square massacre."
However, the video does not depict a crackdown drill, and there have been no official reports indicating that Chinese authorities have conducted nationwide suppression exercises linked to the recent unrest in Venezuela and Iran.
Concert security
A reverse image search using keyframes of the falsely shared video found the same footage uploaded by a Douyin user on January 5 (archived link).
Tagged "Perfect conclusion" and "Runan concert", the footage appears to show security personnel gathering after the conclusion of a show.
AFP reached out to the owner of the account but no response was forthcoming.
Further keyword searches on the platform surfaced other videos shared on the same day, showing groups of people wearing identical gear to that seen in the viral clip, with matching visuals in each background (archived here and here).
The simplified Chinese captions of the videos noted that the uniformed people were security personnel for an all-star concert held at Zhonghe Global Centre in Runan County, Henan Province, China.
The building visible in some of those videos resembles the Runan County People's Court, which is located opposite the concert venue according to Gaode Map, a widely used mapping service in China (archived link).
Many Douyin users also shared videos featuring the performance and tickets of the event held on January 5 at the Zhonghe Global Centre (archived here and here).
Moreover, some individuals in the falsely shared video are seen holding foam glow sticks which are commonly used in concerts.
AFP has previously debunked other misrepresented videos sparked by recent developments in Venezuela and Iran.
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