FACT CHECK: Does This Image Show A March 20 Protest Against COVID-19 Restrictions In Montreal?

Elias Atienza | Senior Reporter

An image shared on Facebook purportedly shows a March 20 protest against COVID-19 restrictions in Montreal, Canada.

“Montreal today,” reads text inside the image.

Verdict: False

The image shows the 2018 “March for Our Lives” rally in the District of Columbia, not a recent protest against COVID-19 restrictions in Montreal.

Fact Check:

Approximately 1,000 people participated in an event, dubbed by some the “Montreal Freedom Rally,” to protest against COVID-19 mitigation measures in Montreal on March 20, CTV News reported. (RELATED: Does This Image Show Joe Biden And Kamala Harris In Front Of Protesters Burning The American Flag?)

Social media users are now claiming a photo shows people participating in that March 20 demonstration, despite the fact that the picture was not taken in 2021 or in Canada. A reverse image search revealed the image actually shows the “March for Our Lives” rally that took place in Washington, D.C., in March 2018.

Though the Facebook image is blurry, it appears to be either an Associated Press photo or Washington Post photo from the 2018 gun control rally. The Associated Press photo can be found in a Business Insider article published in March that year, and photojournalist Salwan Georges took the other one for the Washington Post while covering the event. Both the Canadian Embassy and the Old Post Office Tower are visible in those photos, as well in the Facebook image.

Founded in the aftermath of the February 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting, March for Our Lives is an organization that advocates for “gun violence prevention policies,” according to its website. An estimated 200,000 people attended the 2018 “March for Our Lives” rally in Washington, D.C., CBS News reported.

Check Your Fact has previously debunked social media posts claiming photos from the “March for Our Lives” rally showed demonstrations in favor of former President Donald Trump.

Elias Atienza

Senior Reporter
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