Accounts on social media platforms circulated a video showing a person speaking enthusiastically amid a crowd of people, with these accounts claiming that it documents a protest against the new Syrian government in the areas of northern Syria.
The fact-checking team tracked the circulating video by converting it into still frames and conducting a reverse-image search, and it became clear that the clip is old and has nothing to do with current events or the new Syrian government. The video originally dates back to a popular protest that took place in the city of Ariha in Idlib governorate in northern Syria on 19 July 2024. The clip was posted at the time on social media platforms months before the recent political changes and the formation of the new government.
Why is this claim misleading?
Wrong time and place context: The old video, taken from the Idlib protests in mid-2024, was posted and re-circulated with a misleading framing to suggest the existence of unrest and protests against the newly formed government in the areas of northern Syria.
