A video of a protest in Spain is falsely linked to the Hamas-Israel conflict - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 15, 2023
A video clip showing a large gathering allegedly in Spain is circulating on social media. The claim accompanying the video states it as a protest against the “Israeli genocide against Gaza”, demanding the European Union to intervene and stop the alleged massacre. Let’s fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: This video shows a protest in Spain against “Israeli genocide against Gaza.”
Fact: The video in question is of a protest held in Madrid, Spain, against the local government’s amnesty deal for Catalan separatists. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
Our fact-checking process began with a keyword search on the internet, using Spanish terms related to the described event. This led us to multiple news reports (here, here, and here) dated 12 November 2023, hinting at widespread protests in various Spanish cities against a government’s plans to provide amnesty for Catalan separatists.
Further search led us to an Instagram post by El Mundo, a Spanish media outlet. The post contained the same video as the viral one, with a description stating that the visuals showed a demonstration in Madrid, Spain. The protest was against the decision by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to provide amnesty to Catalan and Basque nationalists.
A post shared by El Mundo (@elmundo_es)
Moreover, the video features a building with a sign that reads ‘Tio Pepe.’ This building was identified as located at Puerta del Sol de Madrid by news reports, including those by Eldebate.com(also here), elconfidencial, and Marca.
Thus, our research suggests that the claim associating the video with the Israel-Hamas conflict is false. The video indeed depicts a protest, but it was against a Spanish government decision, not the Israel-Hamas issue.
To sum up, the viral video does not show a protest in Spain against Israel but is related to a local issue. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.