Supporters of ex-Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte have protested his stunning arrest in March for a crimes against humanity charge. But social media footage purportedly showing a giant rally for the former leader is in fact from a religious event in Iraq.
“Filipinos are showing their support for Duterte and staging nationwide protests,” reads part of the Burmese-language caption to the video shared March 17, 2025 on Facebook.
It has more than 23,000 views and depicts an aerial view of a massive crowd gathered at a public square with bright green lights on either side. Burmese text superimposed on the clip says, “Next time the ICC will be scared of Duterte.”
The 79-year-old former president was arrested on March 11 on a warrant stemming from his deadly crackdown on drugs — and was swiftly transferred to the custody of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Netherlands (archived link).
Rights activists say Duterte’s centrepiece policy has killed tens of thousands of mostly poor men, often without proof they were linked to illegal narcotics.
Screenshot taken on March 25, 2025 of the false post
Similar Facebook and TikTok posts have also misused the video following reports of pro-Duterte protests across the Philippines and before the ICC building in The Hague (archived here and here).
Muslim event
A combination of reverse image and keyword searches on Google found the video posted on Instagram on July 8, 2024 several months before Duterte’s arrest (archived link).
The post’s caption indicates it shows the flag changing ceremony in Iraq’s central Karbala city to mark the beginning of Muharram, the first month in the Islamic calendar.
Screenshot comparison of the false post (left) and the Instagram video
Millions of Shiite Muslims from around the world typically flock to the holy city during the month to commemorate the killing of the Prophet Mohammed’s grandson Hussein (archived link).
Worshippers raise black flags as a sign of grief and mourning. An AFP journalist also listened to the clip and heard the traditional chant, “Here we are Hussein.”
Using these details and visual clues from the Instagram video, AFP was able to confirm the location of the video by comparing it to a photo of Karbala geotagged on Google Maps (archived link).
Screenshot comparison of the Instagram video (left) with the Google Maps photo
A photo in AFP’s archive also shows similar scenes from Muharram events in Iraq.
Posts misrepresenting visuals of huge crowds as pro-Duterte rallies have flooded social media following his arrest.
Read the full article here
