Authors
A Twitter user claimed that a photograph of a car burning is from Norway. It also states this incident occurred after recent protests in Sweden. The tweet reads:
“That was Norway on Saturday night. After burning Sweden on Friday night, the fire of hatred spread to neighboring Norway. #NorwayRiots”
This claim comes after Sweden saw over 300 people gathered to protest the burning of a copy of the Quran in the city of Malmo. The incident was reportedly carried out by a Danish party called Stram Kurs. A day later Norway witnessed protests with a similar theme, where an anti-Islam rally was organised by the group Stop Islamization of Norway.
Fact Check/ Verification
A reverse image search of the photograph in the claim led us to an article published by WGN9 in May, 2020. Titled, “Massive US protests raise fears of new coronavirus outbreak,” it details widespread protests over repeated racial injustice in the country. The photograph of a burning car from the claim is published in this news report along with other images from protests in different states. This photograph is titled,”Protests in Chicago turn into riots.”
Mauritius Times in its August 2020 article titled, “Protests, Yes – but why the mob violence?” includes the image from the claim crediting it to wgntv.com as “Chicago Riots.”
Another article from The USA Express details the recent protests in Chicago which led to looting and riots in the city. This news report includes the photograph of the burning car, but taken from a different angle. You can see the similarities in both images below.
This comes at a time when protests of different nature related to racial injustice and religious differences are taking place in different parts of the world. Previously, we’ve fact checked a claim related to the Minneapolis police precinct that was set on fire after George Flyod’s death due to police brutality.
Conclusion
The tweet attributing the photograph of a burning car to Norway is misleading. The photograph is actually from recent protests in Chicago, USA.
Result: Misplaced Context
Our Sources
WGNTV.com: https://wgntv.com/news/coronavirus/massive-us-protests-raise-fears-of-new-virus-outbreaks/
If you would like us to fact check a claim, give feedback or lodge a complaint, WhatsApp us at 9999499044 or email us at checkthis@newschecker.in. You can also visit the Contact Us page and fill the form.
