Fact check: Video shows looting of Minneapolis Target store in 2020, not recent event in Philadelphia

Kate S. Petersen, USA TODAY
·3 min read
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The claim: Video shows recent looting in Philadelphia

A viral Twitter video shows people removing merchandise from what appears to be a ransacked Target store.

"Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Target is literally turned into a zoo," reads the April 20 video's caption (direct link, archive link). "One guy is having so much fun he’s riding a bicycle. Keep voting democrat and you’ll have nothing #DemocratsAreDestroyingAmerica."

The video was shared more than 700 times on Facebook in a week, according to Crowdtangle, a social media analytics tool. It was also retweeted 16,000 times.

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Our rating: False

The video was shot in Minneapolis in 2020. It shows looting that occurred after George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer.

Video shows 2020 looting in Minneapolis

Floyd died after then-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin held his knee on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes. Chauvin was later convicted of murder in state court and pled guilty to violating Floyd's civil rights in a federal court proceeding. Other officers at the scene were convicted of violating Floyd's civil rights and faced other charges.

Floyd's killing prompted protests across the U.S. condemning police brutality and calling for racial justice. Property damage and looting also occurred in some places.

The footage in the social media post was tweeted by Max Nesterak, deputy editor of the Minnesota Reformer, on May 27, 2020 – two days after Floyd was murdered. He said the footage shows a Target being looted in Minneapolis.

"I posted the video shortly after it was taken," he told USA TODAY in an email. "People were looting the store in the wake of the police murder of George Floyd."

The video was also posted on Facebook by Fox 6 News Milwaukee in May 2020 with the caption, "Footage taken by a Minneapolis journalist shows people rushing out of Target with loads of looted products in the wake of the officer-involved death of George Floyd." The video is credited to Nesterak in the Fox 6 post.

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The Twitter user who posted the video could not be reached.

The claim was also debunked by Reuters.

Our fact-check sources:

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Old looting video from Minneapolis, not Philadelphia