Photo from 2025 Gaza protest in Amsterdam falsely linked to Malema's court appearance in S.Africa

“No Politician is famous in this Country than Julius Malema. Even Jacob Zuma can't pull this crowd. East London is red in support of Moshabi (sic),” reads an X post published on January 23, 2026. 

Zuma is a former president of South Africa, while East London is a city in the country. 

The post includes a photograph of a vast crowd wearing red -- the same colour worn by Malema’s EFF party supporters.

Image

Screenshot of the false X post, taken on January 28, 2026

Similar claims featuring the image circulated on Facebook and Instagram.

Malema appeared in the East London Magistrate's Court in the Eastern Cape on January 23, 2026, for a pre-sentencing hearing after his conviction in October 2025 for weapons-related charges linked to a 2018 rally (archived here and here).

Thousands of EFF supporters travelled to the city for the hearing (archived here).

Proceedings were delayed because the courtroom set aside was too small. Sentencing was postponed to April 15, 2026, when Malema could face up to 15 years in prison.

However, the image linked to his supporters is unrelated to his court appearance.

Dutch demo 

A reverse image search found articles and similar images from October 5, 2025, when hundreds of thousands of protesters marched through Amsterdam demanding a tougher stance from their government over Israel's war in Gaza (archived here).

One of the search results included a link to an Al Jazeera report covering the protest.

A comparison of the image in the false posts and the Al Jazeera footage confirms they show the same event.

Matching features include trees, buildings and a video production crane.

Image

A comparison between the image in the false posts (left), and a screenshot from Al Jazeera's footage of the Amsterdam protest

Demonstrators wore red to signify their support for a symbolic “red line” opposing Israel’s siege of Gaza.

Organisers reportedly estimated that around 250,000 people joined the demonstration, which we geolocated to Amsterdam’s Museum Square.

A large building at the far end of the crowd – visible in the Al Jazeera footage but cropped out of the image falsely linked to the EFF – is Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, a concert hall.

Image

Screenshots comparing the Al Jazeera video (left), to the Google Map Street View of Amsterdam Square

Although a large crowd did attend Malema’s hearing, footage published by the EFF on the day shows a distinctly different setting, filmed on Buffalo Street in East London, where the party had set up a stage (archived here).