Video shows pro-Palestine march in Chicago on Oct. 8.
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Protesters walk after a rally that was held in solidarity with Palestinians May 12, 2021, in Chicago, one of several rallies in support of Palestinians held in the city that month. (AP)
Widely shared video of pro-Palestinian rally in Chicago is from 2021
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Videos circulating on social media purport to show an Oct. 8, 2023, protest with a crowd marching in Chicago and chanting, "free Palestine," but they are from May 2021.
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There was a pro-Palestinian rally Oct. 8 in Chicago, but the videos being shared do not show footage from that protest.
In the days after a deadly attack by Hamas militants on Israel, many social media users were sharing a 2-year-old video of Palestinian supporters marching in Chicago and presenting it as new.
"Pro Palestine march in Chicago now … THIS IS GETTING REAL FOLKS … Stay awake!! 10/8/23," read sticker text atop an Oct. 8 TikTok video.
The video showed a mass of people, some carrying a Palestinian flag, marching down a Chicago street and chanting, "free, free Palestine."
TikTok identified this video as part of its efforts to counter inauthentic, misleading or false content. (Read more about PolitiFact's partnership with TikTok.)
We found numerous examples of people sharing the video on TikTok and across other social media platforms and presenting it as a recent march.
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There was a rally of Palestinian supporters in Chicago on Oct. 8, the day after the Hamas attack. According to news reports, hundreds of people rallied outside the city’s Israeli consulate to call for a free Palestine.
But footage from this rally isn’t what’s in many of the videos currently circulating on social media.
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Those posts share a video showing a throng of Palestinian supporters who had gathered in May 2021, in Chicago’s Loop, one of several protests held in the city amid an 11-day conflict that month between Hamas and Israel.
Using a reverse-image search, we found the same video posted May 17, 2021, on VK, a Russian social media site, from an account called Voice of Palestine. Reuters and Agence France-Presse fact-checkers also traced it to videos posted in 2021 on X and Facebook.
The TikTok video and others like it suggesting the video is related to the current conflict in Israel is False.
Our Sources
TikTok video, Oct. 8, 2023 (archived)
VK post, May 17, 2021
Facebook post, May 17, 2021
X post, May 17, 2021
ABC-7 Chicago, Palestine rally in Chicago draws hundreds to support independence, celebrate Israel ceasefire, May 21, 2021
Chicago Sun-Times, Hundreds march in Loop to show support for Palestine, May 21, 2021
NBC News, Hundreds Protest, March in Chicago Amid Escalating Tensions Between Israel, Palestinians, May 12, 2021
The Associated Press, Israel, Hamas agree to cease-fire to end bloody 11-day war, May 21, 2021
The Associated Press, Israeli and Palestinian supporters rally across U.S. as Israel declares war after Hamas attack, Oct. 9, 2023
ABC-7 Chicago, Chicago protest today: Hundreds of Palestinians march downtown as death toll rises in Israel, Gaza, Oct. 8, 2023
Reuters, Fact Check: Miscaptioned clip of 2021 pro-Palestinian rally in Chicago, Oct. 10, 2023
AFP, Old footage of pro-Palestine Chicago rally spreads after Hamas attack, Oct. 10, 2023
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Widely shared video of pro-Palestinian rally in Chicago is from 2021
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