FACT CHECK: No, This Video Does Not Show Swiss Protestors At ‘Rothschild’s Castle’
A video shared on Twitter purportedly shows demonstrators gathered at “Rothschild’s Castle” in Switzerland.
Switzerland. People are protesting at Rothschild’s castle 🏰. … at belly of the beast … world has awoken up to who the real bad actors arepic.twitter.com/b4vI9rHhED
— #𝕎𝕒𝕣 ℍ𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕫𝕠𝕟 (@WarHorizon) September 20, 2021
Verdict: False
The video shows protestors outside the Swiss Parliament Building.
Fact Check:
Rothschild family members have been powerful in international banking for hundreds of years, and the longtime subjects of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, according to the Washington Post. Late banker Edmond de Rothschild lived at Chateau de Pregny close to Geneva, Switzerland, a residence occasionally called “the Rothschild Castle,” The Times reported.
The Twitter video shows several people running up to a fence surrounding a building while hoses spray water at them. “Switzerland. People are protesting at Rothschild’s castle. …at belly of the beast … world has awoken up to who the real bad actors are,” the Sept. 20 tweet reads.
The footage does not, however, show a protest at Chateau de Pregny. Check Your Fact found part of the footage posted on Twitter on Sept. 16 by the Swiss media outlet Live 1, along with a caption indicating the video showed a protest against COVID-19 restrictions in Bern, Switzerland’s Bundesplatz square.
Bern: Demonstration gegen die Corona-Massnahmen eskaliert. Die Polizei setzt auf dem Bundesplatz Wasserwerfer ein. #CoronaInfoCH pic.twitter.com/mqhru5OIVd
— LIVE1 (@LIVE1TV) September 16, 2021
Swiss Newspaper Aargauer Zeitung also shared footage of the protest in a Sept. 17 article, stating the demonstration occurred Sept. 16 at Bundesplatz. (RELATED: Does This Image Show Pope Francis Kissing The Hands Of David Rockefeller And John Rothschild?)
The Parliament Building and the Swiss National Bank’s main building both border the Bundesplatz, according to Bern’s website. Neither building can be accurately called a Rothschild property. The bank’s ownership is split between government bodies and private shareholders, with the latter holding no more than 0.1 percent of shares each, according to the Swiss National Bank’s website.
An internet search turned up no news reports of a recent protest being held at Chateau de Pregny. No such demonstration has been confirmed by the Swiss outlets Blick, Neue Zurcher Zeitung or Tages-Anzeiger.
As of Sept. 13, a COVID-19 certificate proving vaccination, a negative test result or recovery from the disease is currently required for entering restaurants, museums, and some other indoor establishments in Switzerland, according to the Swiss government’s website. The guidelines also state that masks are required to be worn while indoors.