This footage shows football fans in Argentina, not a protest in Cuba

This article is more than one year old.
Published on July 20, 2021 at 10:58
2 min read
By AFP Mexico, AFP Hong Kong

A video showing crowds in a street has been viewed tens of thousands of times in social media posts that claim it was filmed during anti-government protests in Cuba in July 2021. The claim is false: the clip shows football fans in Buenos Aires celebrating Argentina's victory in the Copa América the day before.

"Large-scale demonstrations across Cuba against the Communist Party!" reads a Facebook post from July 14.

"People chanted 'Pursue freedom! Don't be afraid!' When can the Chinese people stop being afraid of pursuing freedom?!"

The footage, viewed more than 30,000 times, shows crowds chanting and waving flags.

The post was also shared here on Facebook; here and here on Twitter; and here on YouTube alongside a similar claim.

Screenshot taken on July 20, 2021, of the misleading Facebook post ( AFP)

Thousands of Cubans joined rare anti-government protests on July 11, marching through the town of San Antonio de los Banos, as the country faced its toughest phase yet of the coronavirus epidemic.

However, the footage does not show the Cuban protest.

A Google reverse image search using digital verification tool InVid-WeVerify found various Spanish-language posts here and here sharing the footage alongside a claim it was taken in Argentina's capital Buenos Aires.

The posts state the video was filmed at the Obelisco de Buenos Aires monument in the Plaza de la República.

A keyword search on Google found several similar videos here, here and here showing people celebrating Argentina's victory in the Copa América final on July 10.

Visual clues seen in one of the videos, taken from a similar angle, correspond to the footage circulating in the misleading posts.

Similar features in both videos include advertisements, posts and buildings on 9 de Julio Avenue in the Argentine capital.

Screenshot comparisons between the video shared in the misleading posts (L) and a post on Facebook (R) ( AFP)

The monument can also be seen illuminated in the blue and white colours of the Argentine flag.

The same video was also debunked by AFP's Spanish-language fact checkers here.

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