It has been claimed that police in Barcelona find it difficult to control protestors after the Gaza hospital strike, based on a video depicting a fight between protestors and police. The claim was made by several users on the social media and related the incident to the current Israel – Palestine conflict.
Verified profile on twitter, including @qudsn wrote with the caption “Violent confrontations in Barcelona, Spain, between pro-Palestinian demonstrators and the police there..” to give their views on the incident.
مواجهات عنيفة في برشلونة بإسبانيا بين متظاهرين مناصرين لفلسطين والشرطة هناك.. pic.twitter.com/EjSGa6l4FT
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) October 17, 2023
RT (“@RT_com“) shared the incident to other users on X on Oct 17,2023 and wrote the caption “REPORTS: Police struggle to contain protesters in Barcelona following #Gaza hospital strike”. The post was viewed by more than 5k users on twitter. The archive can be read from above.
Many other users, some of which are verified profiles, including Jack (“@JackFought_1“), Eva (“@Eva_CZ1“), Palestine Highlights (“@PalHighlight”), Eduardo Menoni (“@eduardomenoni“), @Conan_F1_ claimed the same on twitter. All of these user profiles believed that this video is from the current conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Is the Video Really from the current Israel-Palestine conflict? : Fact
The truth is that this footage, which shows a police confrontation with protesters in Barcelona, is at least ten months old. The video is old and has nothing to do with the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
A tweet about the incident was made by Scarcity News (“@ScarcityStudios“). It said that the Officers were hurt in clashes with the police in Barcelona, Spain, over lockdown restrictions. Large crowds gathered in other parts of the city to protest, and police used motorbikes to chase down rioters tonight, making several arrests. The tweet was made on Nov 2,2020.
Barcelona,Spain : Clashes with police over lockdown restrictions results in officers injured . police used motorbikes to chase down rioters tonight with several arrests made as large crowds gathered in other places in the city to protest #worldnews #spain #Barcelona pic.twitter.com/5pUd2YY5us
— Scarcity News (@ScarcityStudios) November 1, 2020
We visited Daily Mail, who published an article about this incident. After Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez issued a state of emergency and a nationwide curfew between 11pm and 6am on October 25, allowing people to leave their homes only for absolutely necessary travels, it sparked the outbreak of violence. The video shows the pianist playing the 1988 Bangles song “Is this burning an eternal flame?” unfazed by the violence taking place behind him. This video is old and not from the current conflict.
D-Intent’s Fact-Checking Results:
1222
— D-Intent Data (@dintentdata) October 18, 2023
ANALYSIS: Misleading
FACT: A video that shows a clash between protestors and Police has been shared claiming that Police struggle to contain protesters in Barcelona following the #Gaza hospital strike, the fact is that this is at least 10 months old video (1/2) pic.twitter.com/ClnhXlkpAr
Intent:
Media outlets are using a three-year-old Spanish video with misleading claims in order to advance their narrative regarding the Israel Gaza War.
Conclusion:
Claim : A video purporting to show a clash between protestors and police in Barcelona after the Gaza hospital strike has gone viral has been shared. It is claimed to have been related to the current Israel and Hamas war.
Fact : The video, which shows a police confrontation with protesters in Barcelona, is, in fact, at least ten months old.
