On May 10, Facebook pages Geo Pepe and Anti-Liberal Club posted a manipulative photo, captioned “’Merkel Must Stay!’ – Tens of Thousands Flood German Streets in Support of Merkel”. The information given in the description of the photo gives an impression as if the people pictured on it were German citizens, supporting the Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel.
Actually, the photo shows not the support of German citizens for Angela Merkel, but rather a protest by Bangladeshi citizens in Dhaka in 2012.
Real Facts
Verification of the photo proved that it came from a manifestation organized by the Islamic Party activists in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka on September 14, 2012. The manifestation consisted of 10,000 people, who burnt down flags of the US and Israel and headed towards the US embassy because of an anti-Islamic short film disseminated via the internet that sparkled an outrage among the Muslims. Apart from Bangladesh, Libya, Tunisia and Egypt also saw protests related to this film.
The given photo has no connection with “a manifestation of German citizens in support of Angela Merkel”.
This photo manipulation is targeted towards strengthening the anti-Western messages, according to which the European countries are flooded by migrants.
Prepared by Mariam Tsitsikashvili
Myth Detector Lab
