Authors
Vasudha noticed the growing problem of mis/disinformation online after studying New Media at ACJ in Chennai and became interested in separating facts from fiction. She is interested in learning how global issues affect individuals on a micro level. Before joining Newschecker’s English team, she was working with Latestly.
Claim
Protests in Sweden over the participation of an Israeli singer in the Eurovision contest.
Fact
2009 video of a protest against Sweden-Israel match in Davis Cup tournament.
Thousands of protesters thronged the Swedish city of Malmo, demonstrating against the participation of Israel’s Eden Golan in the ongoing Eurovision song competition. Amid the pro-Palestine protests in the country, a video showing a mob vandalising police vehicles has been shared widely on social media platforms. Those sharing the video claimed that it shows the recent protests in Sweden. Newschecker found that an old video has been misleadingly linked to the recent protests in Sweden over the Israeli singer’s participation in the Eurovision contest.
Such posts can be seen here, here, here and here.
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Fact Check/Verification
On scanning through the comment sections of the post carrying the viral footage, we found multiple users pointing out that the video in fact shows a protest related to the Davis Cup tournament in 2009.
Taking a clue, we looked up keywords “Davis Cup,” “Sweden,” “Protest,” and “Police Vehicles” on Google which led us to a report by the Associated Press published in CBC website, dated March 7, 200. Displaying an image similar to the visuals seen in the viral video, the report stated, “Dozens of anti-Israel activists clashed with police Saturday as they tried to storm a closed arena in Sweden where the home country and Israel were playing a Davis Cup tennis match.”
Adding, “The activists hurled rocks and firecrackers at police vans as they tried to break through the barricades set up to keep protesters from the arena. Hundreds of riot police pushed them back using truncheons.”
After comparing the image featured in CBC website with the keyframes of the viral video, we concluded that they both depict the same incident.
Following this, we searched for keywords “Davis Cup,” “Protesters,” “Police Vehicle,” and “Malmo” in Swedish on Google, which yielded a report by Sweden’s Skanska Dagbladet, dated May 15, 2009. It carried a photograph from the protest, stating, “On March 7, a demonstration was organised against the Davis Cup tennis match between Sweden and Israel. When the demonstration train reached the stadium area, riots broke out. The police had set up their so-called Delta buses to prevent the demonstrators from entering the area closest to the Baltic Hall. (translated from Swedish via Google)”
We then looked up the same keywords on YouTube and found a longer version of the video uploaded on the platform by HerrliiN on March 8, 2009 with the caption “Davis Cup Sweden-Israel demonstrations”
A slightly longer version of the viral footage was uploaded on YouTube by Sydsvenskan on May 15, 2009. The description of the same stated, “During the Davis Cup tennis in Malmö, a demonstration degenerated. Hooligans destroyed police cars. (translated from Swedish via Google)”
The photos from the protest, like this , this and this, can also be seen on Alamy website.
Multiple outlets reported on the protests in Malmo against the Sweden-Israel Davis Cup match in 2009. Such reports can be seen here, here and here.
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Conclusion
We could thus conclude that a video from a 2009 anti-Israel protest in Sweden’s Malmo has been misleadingly linked to the ongoing unrest in the country.
Result: False
Sources
Report Published In CBC Website, Dated March 7, 2009
Report By Skanska Dagbladet, Dated May 15, 2009
YouTube Video By HerrliiN, Dated March 8, 2009
YouTube Video By Sydsvenskan, Dated May 15, 2009
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Authors
Vasudha noticed the growing problem of mis/disinformation online after studying New Media at ACJ in Chennai and became interested in separating facts from fiction. She is interested in learning how global issues affect individuals on a micro level. Before joining Newschecker’s English team, she was working with Latestly.
