FACT CHECK: Does This Video Show Iranian Protesters Clashing With Police In October 2022?
A video shared on Twitter purportedly shows riot police clashing with Iranians protesting the treatment of women in the country.
Iranian people are having none of the basiji regime tasked with putting down protests. Watch the footage from today: #IranRevolution #مهسا_امینی #MahsaAmini#OpIran
— Emily Schrader – אמילי שריידר (@emilykschrader) October 9, 2022
Verdict: False
This video is miscaptioned appeared on YouTube in Nov. 2010 and depicts a protest from Dec. 2009. The footage, while taken in Iran, shows a protest after a controversial election.
Fact Check:
Protests erupted in Iran after the country’s “morality police,” a group that enforces the country’s rules on dress and behavior codes, killed a 22-year-old woman named Mahsa Amini for allegedly breaking hijab guidelines, according to NPR. An estimated 233 people, including children, have been killed in Iran over the last five weeks as a result of the protests, Voice of America reported.
A Twitter video allegedly shows footage of these protesters clashing with riot police earlier in October. “Iranian people are having none of the basiji regime tasked with putting down protests. Watch the footage from today,” the post’s caption reads. (RELATED: Did Pennsylvania Gubernatorial Candidate Support Iran’s Treatment Of Women Protesters?)
While the video is from Iran, the protest in the footage predates the ongoing demonstrations. A reverse video search found the footage stems from a November 2010 video on YouTube titled “Iran Tehran 7 Dec 2009 Riot Police Captured by Protesters.”
Iranian college students, many of whom were about of the country’s “pro-reform movement,” protested in the aftermath of the 2009 elections, according to an article by CBS News published in December 2009. The demonstrations were sparked after allegations were made against then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claiming he had “stolen” the election, The New York Times reported in June 2009.
This is not the first time misinformation related to the ongoing Iranian protests has spread. Check Your Fact previously debunked a claim that Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano praised the Iranian supreme leader for his treatment of women.
