Numerous accounts on social media circulated a video clip claimed to document a demonstration in the city of Raqqa demanding the fall of the Syrian government, because of what was described as a "squeeze on people's livelihoods".
The fact-checking team carried out a digital trace that included keyword searching and cross-checking the circulated information against reliable local sources, alongside a reverse search of the video and scrutiny of the chants heard in it, and found that the clip relates to a protest by a number of used-clothes sellers in Raqqa, during which they demanded the removal of the city's "customs administration", objecting to what they described as excessive practices and procedures, including the imposition of violations and fines of large sums, and being barred by the customs enforcement office from selling used clothes.
Why is this claim misleading?
Changing the context: The video is genuine, but it was recirculated with an inaccurate description of the protest's context and of the chants the participants raised, in order to turn a sectoral grievance about customs procedures into a political demonstration demanding the fall of the government.
