Video of protesters attacking Barcelona police unrelated to Israel-Hamas war | Fact check

Hannah Hudnall, USA TODAY
·2 min read
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The claim: Video shows pro-Palestinian protestors attacking police in Barcelona

An Oct. 20 Instagram video (direct link, archive link) shows an aerial view of a group of people throwing objects, including metal gates, at a police car in the middle of a city street. Other officers then arrive in cars and motorbikes and begin chasing the crowd away.

"Pro-Palestinian terrorists are trying to attack police in Barcelona, they did not expect that," reads the post's caption, which includes the hashtags #stopterorism and #HamasISIS.

Similar versions of the claim were shared on Instagram, Facebook and X, formerly Twitter.

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Our rating: False

The video shows a 2020 protest against COVID-19 restrictions in Barcelona. It's unrelated to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

Video shows 2020 COVID-19 lockdown protest

Though demonstrations have erupted throughout the world in support of Palestinians in Gaza caught in the middle of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, the Instagram video doesn't show such a demonstration in Spain.

The video was shared on X on Nov. 1, 2020, with a caption saying it shows a Barcelona protest in response to COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.

The demonstrations erupted after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez declared a national state of emergency on Oct. 25, 2020, and imposed a nationwide curfew between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.

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Footage of police officers in Barcelona arresting those violating the curfew in November 2020 was published by the Associated Press. The Guardian reported that similar protests took place in several other Spanish cities the same weekend.

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

AFP, Reuters, AP, Check Your Fact and Lead Stories also debunked the claim.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Barcelona protest video unrelated to Israel-Hamas war | Fact check