Image Of Switzerland Festival Falsely Shared As Vaccine Protests In Italy

A photo of huge crowds lining the streets is circulating in Facebook posts that claim it shows an anti-vaccine protest in Italy. The claim is false; the photo shows a street music festival in Switzerland in 2018.

The photo was shared on Facebook on October 27.

Korean-language text next to the photo reads: "Regardless of whether we get the vaccine or not, government stay out of it, Italy says".

Screenshot of the misleading Facebook post, taken on November 4, 2021. ( AFP)

The post circulated online following a series of protests in Italy against the so-called "green pass" for those vaccinated against Covid-19, have recently recovered or obtained a negative test for the disease.

Opposition against the pass -- which some criticise as an attack on individual liberty -- intensified when the government toughened rules on October 15 to make it a requirement to access all workplaces.

The same photo was shared in similar Facebook posts here, here and here.

However, the claim is false.

A reverse image search on Google found the photo was taken in Switzerland, not Italy.

It was published here on the 2018 photo gallery of the Street Parade music festival in the Swiss city Zurich.

Screenshot of Street Parade website, captured on November 4, 2021. ( AFP)

Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo in the false posts (L) and the photo on the Street Parade gallery (R).

Screenshot comparison of the photo in the false posts (L) and the photo on the Street Parade gallery (R).

The photo corresponds to this bridge in Zurich shown in Google Maps.

Below is a screenshot of the photo (L) and its corresponding features shown in Google Maps (R).

Screenshot of the photo (L) and its corresponding features shown in Google Maps (R).

AFP has previously debunked false posts that misrepresented the photo as a Donald Trump rally in the United States and a demonstration against coronavirus restrictions in Germany.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by BOOM staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)