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| - FACT CHECK: Does This Video Show Italians Tearing Down An EU Flag In September 2022?
A video shared on Facebook allegedly shows Italians tearing down a European Union (EU) flag at an office in Rome in 2022.
Verdict: Misleading
The video took place in 2013 against the Italian government and austerity measures, not 2022.
Fact Check:
Italian politician Giorgia Meloni is set to become Italy’s next Prime Minister, according to The New York Times. Her electoral victory is poised to place the most right-wing government in Italy in decades, which would allow her Brothers of Italy party to potentially form a “hard-right” coalition, the outlet reported. (RELATED: Did A BBC Chyron Say Universities In Ghana Are Closed For A Week To Honor Queen Elizabeth II?)
The Facebook video appears to show a recent protest in Italy where citizens descended on buildings and began tearing down EU flags before replacing them with Italian flags. The claim also went viral on Twitter, with one iteration receiving over 200,000 views.
Italy… The EU flag is torn down and replaced by the Italian flag. Citizens have had enough of the economic destroying policies of the EU.
RESIST 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/605EFVszKU
— Pelham (@Resist_05) September 24, 2022
“Finally there is an uprising in Italy,” the post’s caption claims. “Citizens have had enough of the economic destroying policies of the EU.”
The video predates the recent election in Italy. A reverse image search found that the video appeared in a 2013 YouTube upload titled,”CasaPound blitz at European Union headquarters – flag stolen, police charges – 14 December 2013.”
There were protests in 2013 against economic austerity and the Italian government, according to Reuters. The group in the video, a neo-fascist Italian group called Casapound, tore down the EU flag at the Europe Commission’s Rome headquarters, but police later recovered the flag and forced the protesters away from the building, the outlet reported.
Protests have appeared in the wake of Meloni’s election, with pro-abortion demonstrations taking place in the cities of Rome and Milan, according to PBS.
This is not the first time a video allegedly showing recent protests in Italy have been misattributed to current events. Check Your Fact previously debunked a video in August 2022 allegedly showing Italian farmers protesting against “enforced farming legislation.”
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