21. Italians take down an EU flag and replace it with an Italian flag. Fake or not?
Brothers of Italy, a far-right political party rooted in the emergence of post-World War II neo-fascism, garnered a majority of votes in Italy’s general election in September 2022. Giorgia Meloni, who co-founded and leads the Brothers of Italy, is poised to become the country’s first female prime minister. She’s also expected to lead the most right-wing government Italy has had since Benito Mussolini, Italy’s fascist dictator during the early 20th century.
A day after the election, an Instagram account shared footage of what appears to be a large crowd of Italian demonstrators taking to the streets and waving the country’s flag. The video was similarly shared in other Facebook posts and tweets as news of Meloni’s election was trending.
“Italians take down an EU flag and replace it with an Italian flag,” a block of text over the video posted on Instagram claimed, referencing the European Union, an economic and political union of 27 countries, including Italy. The video shows demonstrators clashing with police, and a man wearing an Italian flag mask climbing the balcony of a nearby building to remove a European Union flag hanging from it. The man tosses the flag into the crowd below.
The video was viewed thousands of times online and was shared by known conspiracist channels in both Italy and France.
HOW CAN WE VERIFY THIS?
However, this video is not recent and was first shared online in December 2013, nearly a decade ago. The clip actually shows a demonstration by the neo-fascist CasaPound movement to protest against the EU’s economic policies and demand more national sovereignty in Italy. The video shows the neo-fascist group swarming the Rome headquarters of the European Commission during a wave of protests in Italy related to economic insecurity and skepticism toward the European Union.
The man who actually replaced the EU flag in this video, published on YouTube by CasaPound was sentenced to three months imprisonment and given a 100 Euro fine.
WHAT ARE OTHER SOURCES SAYING?
Many other news outlets have debunked this video but agree that there is a shared concern about euro-skepticism and the neo-fascist movements in Italy. Associated Press reported on it, among others
FAKE OR NOT?
There is no evidence of widespread anti-EU protests in Italy after the elections. This is an example of fake news that aims to boost the insecurity and skepticism toward the European Union.
