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| - Fact Check: Scene of arson at 'Black Lives Matter' protest goes viral as Norway riots
A picture of a car burning on the roadside is circulating on social media linking it to the recent violence in Norway.
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India Today Fact Check
The image was taken in May in the US. 'Black Lives Matter' protesters had set a police vehicle on fire in Chicago.
A picture of a car burning on the roadside is circulating on social media linking it to the recent violence in Norway. Clashes broke out between far-right activists and Muslims in Oslo after the former took out a rally against "Islamisation of Scandinavia" and the latter opposed.
Incidentally, the clashes broke out on Saturday, August 29, a day after neighbouring Sweden too witnessed riots against "anti-Islam" activities.
Since then, several users have been posting the viral image of a car up in flames on Twitter and WhatsApp, relating it with the Norway incident.
India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found that the picture in circulation is not from Norway but Chicago. In May, the United States had erupted over the killing of a black man named George Floyd in police custody. The picture is of a police car set ablaze by rioters during the 'Black Lives Matter' protests.
The archived versions of the posts can be seen here and here.
Using reverse image search, we found it was published on a Chicago-based news portal called "WGN9" on May 31. The caption says, "Protests in Chicago turn into riots".
The same picture was published on other websites such as "Mauritius Times" as a scene from Chicago riots.
On May 31, news portal "Chicago Sun-Times" reported the same incident and condemned the torching of a police SUV as a mark of protest.
Rioters in Norway kicked and climbed on the hood of a police vehicle, but there were no reports of police vehicles being torched. They also reportedly pelted stones at the police and tried to disrupt the far-right rally. However, the viral picture is not at all related to the incident.
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