A video of an anti-government protest in Belarus in 2020 has been circulated online, with netizens claiming it is from a far-right London march in October 2024.
A misleading video has gone viral on social media, supposedly showing a far-right demonstration in London in October 2024.
The 19-second video shows a large crowd on a main street with people waving red and white flags, and an overlapping text that reads “Unite the kingdom”.
The footage, which has been shared by various accounts on TikTok and X, claims 300,000 British nationalists gathered in London on the 26th of October, and also includes references to far-right activist Tommy Robinson.
However, the claims are false, as the video in fact shows an anti-government protest in the Belarusian capital of Minsk in August 2020.
Taking a closer look
With the help of reverse image search, it is possible to identify Minsk’s Independence Street, as well as Independence Square, as the camera pans along in the video.
The video also shows Minsk’s Government House amongst the surrounding buildings.
Minsk protests being misguided
A wave of protests swept Belarus after President Alexander Lukashenko claimed a landslide victory in the 2020 presidential election with 80% of the vote.
However, his main challenger Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and her supporters refused to recognise the results, saying the outcome was rigged as demonstrators took to the streets.
More than 100,000 people marched in the Belarusian capital on consecutive Sundays to protest against the country’s authoritarian leader, who was entering his sixth term in office.
The demonstrators demanded the resignation of President Alexander Lukashenko and freedom for political prisoners. Police used water cannons in an attempt to disperse the crowds, but the protesters remained undeterred.
Lukashenko denied these claims and said that foreign powers were behind the protests.
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