Impressive footage of a massive demonstration:
On social media, users posted this video, claiming that it was made during the “Freedom Convoy” in Canada.
The trucker protest demonstrates against compulsory corona vaccination for truck drivers who drive back to Canada from the USA.
But the posts are fake news. What is the clip really about?
The alleged video of the protest is a recording taken out of context.
Instead of being part of the current trucker protests in Canada, the clip was made as part of the so-called “farmers’ demonstration” in Germany.
In November 2019, farmers demonstrated, among other things, against stricter insect protection requirements and for more respect and recognition.
Uploads of the video to Twitter show that the recording was made before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic – and thus also before protests against a Covid 19 vaccination requirement for Canadian truck drivers.
The case shows how easily old videos can be used to spread false news about current events. This is how German farmers become Canadian truckers demonstrating against corona measures.
How do we check videos for manipulation in the editorial office? It is important to look at the details. The individual frames of a video often reveal whether a video has been edited. We take a close look at each image and enlarge individual sections. Indications of a fake are, for example: lack of motion blur, unnatural shadows or editing errors. The general rule at stern is: Seriousness before speed. We always double-check facts and material thoroughly before publishing them. For this we work with the cross-editorial “Team Verification” together with RTL, NTV, RTL2, Radio NRW.