Outdated Greece footage misrepresented as violent US protest
- Published on January 14, 2026 at 21:55
- 3 min read
- By Bill MCCARTHY, AFP USA, AFP Middle East & North Africa
As protests sweep the United States following the fatal shooting of a Minnesota woman by an immigration agent, a video of individuals hurling Molotov cocktails is spreading online alongside claims that it shows a fiery demonstration in the country. But the clip is misrepresented; reverse image searches traced the footage to violent clashes that erupted after a November 2025 rap concert in Greece.
"America is spiraling out of control," says a January 11, 2026 post sharing the footage on X. "Millions are taking to the streets in protest against Trump's policies. Tension is rising… and the picture inside the U.S. is shifting fast."
The post comes from "@SilentlySirs," an account AFP previously fact-checked for spreading other misinformation about the protests that have flared across the United States after the fatal January 7 shooting in Minneapolis by a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent. According to X, the account is based in Africa.
Similar claims have spread on Facebook and Instagram, and also in Arabic. At the same time, other social media users have falsely claimed the same footage shows mass protests that have swelled in Iran throughout January in opposition to the country's authoritarian clerical rulers.
But the video is unrelated to both Iran and the United States.
Reverse image searches found the footage shared to Instagram as early as November 2, 2025, including in one post from Greece's Ta Nea newspaper (archived here).
The outlet said it showed violent clashes involving Molotov cocktails and tear gas after a concert in the port town of Thessaloniki, and that police made 18 arrests.
The Greek newspaper Kathimerini and the video-licensing website Newsflare published photos and videos of the clash from different angles (archived here and here).
AFP also geolocated the footage to Thessaloniki (archived here).
AFP has debunked other misinformation about the Minnesota shooting here, here, here and here.
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