Fact check: Berlin Pride attack claims debunked
Following the Islamist terror attack at Berlin Pride, rumors, false claims and misleading videos have been spreading on social media. DW Fact check examines some
Following the Islamist terror attack at Berlin Pride, rumors, false claims and misleading videos have been spreading on social media. DW Fact check examines some of the most widely shared claims. In the aftermath of Saturday's attack at Berlin's Christopher Street Day LGBTQ+ Pride celebrations, more and more details have emerged about the alleged perpetrator and the attack itself. But as it is often the case in the aftermath of such events, verified information can be hard to come by, while rumors and false claims spread rapidly on social media. DW Fact check takes a look at several of such viral posts. Toronto shooting falsely shared in connection with Berlin attack Claim: A video shared on TikTok shows a crowd of people fleeing from something happening off screen. Text overlaid on the video in the style of a location tag suggests that it shows Christopher Street Day (CSD) celebrations in Berlin. The video is circulating on various platforms and in multiple languages. DW Fact check: False This video does not show the attack in Berlin but a shooting at a festival in Toronto Image: tiktok The video does not show the attack on Berlin's Pride event, which German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has classified as an "Islamist terrorist attack." A reverse image search leads to an older video on YouTube that was published on July 13 this year, well before the Berlin Pride celebrations. The footage therefore does not show events in Berlin. Instead, it shows a shooting at a salsa festival in Toronto, Canada, on July 11.
At least two people reportedly exchanged gunfire during the Salsa on St. Clair festival. According to statements by Canadian police, two people were killed. At least five others were injured. So far, Canadian police have not released any information about the motive behind the shooting. The video has no connection to the attack in Berlin. Does footage show the arrest of the suspected perpetrator? Claim: Shaky nighttime footage shows a person in a white T-shirt lying on the ground with hands bound behind their back, while people in police uniforms stand nearby. According to some posts, such as this one on X, this si second clip allegedly shows police arresting the suspected perpetrator at the scene of the attack. The claim is also circulating in Arabic, Hebrew and Russian. DW Fact check: False Contrary to claims on social media, this video does not show the arrest of the suspect Image: X The video does not show the arrest of the suspected perpetrator. It was already circulating on social media shortly after the attack during the night from Saturday to Sunday. At that time, however, the suspect was still on the run. The first reports that police had shot the alleged perpetrator did not emerge until more than 20 hours after the attack. How did the video spread? The media outlet Junge Freiheit initially shared the video on its social media channels, from where it was picked up by other accounts. The red-and-white "JF" logo is clearly visible in the video. Junge Freiheit is a right-wing German weekly newspaper.
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