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Updated June 4th, 2020 at 18:04 IST

Fact check: Is image claiming Coronavirus protests against Donald Trump in USA real?

Is the picture of thousands of people marching on streets in the US against President Trump? See the fact check report for the authenticity of this viral post.

Reported by: Surabhi Sabat
Fact check: Image stating Coronavirus protests against Donald Trump in USA
| Image:self
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Cities across the US are currently observing protests over the killing of African-American George Floyd with numerous violent confrontations playing out between police officers and the protesters nationwide. Now, a photo has surfaced on social media which sees a massive crowd marching with flags and banners in the USA. The viral post has claims written in Hindi which translates to "streets across America are starting to overflow with people who are protesting against President Donald Trump’s plan to ruin the country by using coronavirus as a tool". Read on for a fact check report on the authenticity of this viral image. 

Also Read | Protesters Return To The Streets As Trump Decries 'lowlifes'

What is the viral image in reference to?

The picture was shared by a Facebook user along with a post in Hindi claiming that Americans are starting to take to the streets. The post added that the US President, who had planned to destroy the country by using coronavirus as a tool, is now stuck in his own game as the people have now started protesting against him as shown in the image.

Take a look at the Facebook post that was shared recently. 

Fact Check - BLM protests

Image credits: Facebook

Also Read | Pentagon Mobilises 1,600 Army Troops Amid Ongoing Protests In Washington

Republic World did a Fact check on the Image in question 

  • It turns out that the claim, along with the authenticity of the picture, is actually False. This is because the image in question has nothing to do with the US or coronavirus. 
  • In fact, it is a picture from 3 years ago from Barcelona, Spain. The picture shared in the Facebook post is a cropped version of a photo that was published in an article from The Atlantic. See the original image below that was clicked by photographer Manu Fernandez in February 2017, who is an AP Staff Photographer based in Madrid. 
fact check, coronavirus protests, blm protests, will protests spread coronavirus, protests and coronavirus

Image courtesy: Manu Fernandez/AP

  • The picture was actually taken when thousands of people in Barcelona marched through the streets to demand that Spain's government should allow the refugees into the country that fled the war in Syria and other violent conflict zones.
  • The Guardian along with many other articles from different publishers were seen using the same image in the year 2017 discussing the same issue. 
  • While it’s true that the United States is currently witnessing Black Lives Matter protests, but the picture in question here is completely unrelated to USA, Trump, or coronavirus protests. 

Also Read | Zuckerberg Accused Of Setting 'dangerous Precedent' For Allowing Trump's Facebook Post

Google Trends analysis of this rumour

After an analysis of the Google Trends with respect to the viral image of the Coronavirus protests in the US, one can see that people have been hugely interested to know the truth about the message. It was found that the maximum number of searches have been done on June 3, 2020. 

fact check, coronavirus protests, blm protests, will protests spread coronavirus, protests and coronavirus

Also Read | Protests Continue In DC After Curfew Imposed

Is there any rumour you want Republic World to do a fact check on? Do you have facts about a rumour? Share your pictures or videos with Republic World on contact@republicworld.com or comment on this story. 

Image credits: Facebook posts

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Published June 4th, 2020 at 18:04 IST

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