This video actually shows an anti-government protest in Belarus

  • This article is more than one year old.
  • Published on September 1, 2020 at 07:30
  • 2 min read
  • By AFP Australia
A video has been shared thousands of times in multiple posts on Facebook alongside a claim that it shows a rally against coronavirus restrictions in the British capital of London. The claim is false; the footage shows an anti-government protest in Belarus in August 2020.

The video was published here on Facebook on August 29, 2020. It has been shared more than 2,400 times. 

The video's caption reads: “Anti-Lockdown rally in London ?? today! Anyone else feel the shift? It’s happening! #TheGreatAwakening”.

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A screenshot of the misleading Facebook post taken on August 31, 2020.

The post circulated online after thousands gathered in London’s Trafalgar Square on August 29 to protest against the country’s coronavirus restrictions. Here is a report by UK newspaper The Guardian about the mass rally.

The video was also shared here, here, here, here, and here on Facebook alongside a similar claim.

The claim, however, is false.

A Google reverse image search of keyframes extracted from the video in the misleading post found the same clip in this tweet published by Paul Ronzheimer, a reporter for German newspaper BILD, on August 23, 2020.

The tweet was part of a thread of videos from the Belarusian capital of Minsk. Anti-government protests in the city calling for an end to strongman Alexander Lukashenko's rule have entered a third week. Here is an AFP report on the ongoing unrest.

The location of the video in the misleading posts can be seen here on Google Street View. Exteriors of Minsk Central Post Office on Google match the building seen in the video. 

Below is a screenshot comparison of the video in the misleading post (L) and a Google Street View panorama view of the Minsk Central Post Office (R): 

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Closer examination of the video also revealed that the people marching are holding white and red flags. Protesters opposed to Lukashenko have used a white and red flag in recent demonstrations -- the colours of the ex-Soviet country's emboldened opposition -- as a protest symbol against Lukashenko.  

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