The fake claim that groups of Muslims are responsible for setting fire to five churches in France over the course of a single day has been circulating online. The acts supposedly took place on October 17 when violence erupted across several French cities, marring a series of planned peaceful demonstrations.
The claim has mainly been propagated by accounts known for anti-immigrant and islamophobic rhetoric, some of which have exploited footage of previous protests, taking them out of context.
American conspiracy theorist and podcaster Alex Jones made the claim originally via a post on X on October 25. It included a video purporting to be of one of the churches on fire, but the FRANCE 24 Observers team was able to geolocate the video to confirm in reality it actually showed a rubbish bin on fire in front of an apartment building in Lyon. In early October, Jones also made the unsubstanciated allegation that Catholic priests had been set alight during the protest led by French high schoolers.
"European heritage and history will soon be nothing but ashes without Remigration", read a post by a pro-Trump account, MAGA Nation 47, on X. The post featured a video of the Saint-Michel Church in Bordeaux, appearing to be on fire. But this post also used out-of-context images to deceive viewers. The video was actually filmed back in July and it shows a fire that started at a homeless encampment – which did not reach the church. Several media...
The fake claim that groups of Muslims are responsible for setting fire to five churches in France over the course of a single day has been circulating online. The acts supposedly took place on Oct...