A tweet reads "Nothing to see here. Just following orders. #TrudeauTyranny" and features a photo of police officers with batons. The News Literacy Project added the label "G-20 Protests, 2010."

#FreedomConvoy

#FalseContext

#Protests

A tweet reads "Nothing to see here. Just following orders. #TrudeauTyranny" and features a photo of police officers with batons. The News Literacy Project added the label "G-20 Protests, 2010."

#FreedomConvoy

#FalseContext

#Protests

Photo of protesters getting shoved by police is from 2010, not the ‘Freedom Convoy’

A 2010 photo of police shoving and kicking a group of G-20 summit protesters in Toronto is circulating out of context online with claims that it shows police cracking down on “Freedom Convoy” protesters in Canada. Let’s take a look at the facts.

Quick Look

  • No

    This photo does not show police shoving and kicking so-called Freedom Convoy protesters in Ottawa, Ontario, in 2022.

  • Yes

    It is a photo of police attempting to clear a group of protesters during the G-20 summit in Toronto in June 2010.

  • Yes

    Police in riot gear used force to clear some “Freedom Convoy” protesters in Ottawa on Feb. 19.

The Takeaway

When major developments in a protest movement occur, supporters often seek out photos and video to share online to promote their cause. But some supporters go so far as to steal more dramatic visuals from other contexts to help their message go viral on social media. For example, purveyors of disinformation often seek out old photos and video of large crowds — at other protests, but also at nonpolitical events like music festivals and sports team rallies — to inflate the degree of grassroots support for a cause. This particular rumor is aimed at a different approach: exaggerating the degree or intensity of opposition to garner sympathy. Because these visuals are generally powerful, and typically align with actual events, they are often readily accepted by other supporters online. This is another reminder to double-check the authenticity of photos and videos of controversial events from sources you don’t recognize online.


The 5 Factors

We’ve determined that this viral rumor is misleading or false based on its failure to pass the following credibility factors. Please note that these factors do not represent degrees of falsehood. A post that fails a single factor is generally just as false as a post that fails all five.

Snapshot

  • Authenticity

  • Source

  • Evidence

  • Context

  • Reasoning

Authenticity

Is it authentic?

No.

This entry was originally published on NLP's viral rumor rundown blog, a predecessor of RumorGuard. This legacy site did not include a factors section.

Source

Has it been posted or confirmed by a credible source?

No.

This entry was originally published on NLP's viral rumor rundown blog, a predecessor of RumorGuard. This legacy site did not include a factors section.

Evidence

Is there evidence that proves the claim?

No.

This entry was originally published on NLP's viral rumor rundown blog, a predecessor of RumorGuard. This legacy site did not include a factors section.

Context

Is the context accurate?

No.

This entry was originally published on NLP's viral rumor rundown blog, a predecessor of RumorGuard. This legacy site did not include a factors section.

Reasoning

Is it based on solid reasoning?

No.

This entry was originally published on NLP's viral rumor rundown blog, a predecessor of RumorGuard. This legacy site did not include a factors section.