Banner featuring Iran Supreme Leader Khamenei unfurled at Brooklyn Museum? No, viral clip is edited

What’s the claim?

A video circulating on social media shows a large red banner featuring an image of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the text “Thank You American Boys and Girls,” being unfurled before a cheering crowd outside a building. The claim accompanying the video suggests it was displayed during a pro-Palestine protest at the Brooklyn Museum in New York.

A Facebook user who shared the clip commented, “The pro-Hamas mob drops a huge banner of the Iranian supreme leader outside the Brooklyn Museum. Couldn't make it up.” As of the time of writing, the video had been viewed over 4,000 times. Archived versions of similar posts can be found here and here.

The video has also gained significant traction on Twitter (formerly X), with one post amassing over 299,000 views. Archived versions of similar X posts can be found here, here, and here.

Screenshot of the viral claims made online. (Source: Facebook/X/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, Logically Facts investigated and found that the viral clip had been digitally altered to add Khamenei’s face to the banner.

What we found

Our analysis found that the viral clip combines footage from two separate videos. A reverse image search of keyframes revealed that the initial five-second clip seen in the viral video was originally shared on TikTok (archived here) by the user "thereisnome3" on June 1, 2024. This TikTok video shows similar visuals to the viral clip, but without the red banner featuring Khamenei. Instead, a small black banner reads: “Free Palestine Divest From Genocide.”

Comparison between the first clip in the viral video and the original video. (Source: Facebook/TikTok)

Furthermore, the second part of the viral video, starting at 0:06 seconds, originates from the official YouTube channel of the Turkish news agency Anadolu English (archived here), uploaded on June 2, 2024. The viral clip appears at the 0:16 second mark in the YouTube video, but again, the red banner with Khamenei is absent.

Journalist Mehmet Ardiç also shared this clip on his official X account (archived here) on June 1, 2024, and it does not feature the red banner.

Comparison between the second clip in the viral video and the original video. (Source: Facebook/X/@MehmetArdic_)

According to an Associated Press report, on May 31, 2024, hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered at the Brooklyn Museum and displayed a banner reading "Free Palestine" from the roof of the building.

An image from the protest, published on Getty Images, depicts only the “Free Palestine, Divest From Genocide” banner unfurled at the museum.

The verdict

During the pro-Palestine protest outside the Brooklyn Museum on May 31, 2024, demonstrators displayed a black banner reading "Free Palestine, Divest From Genocide." The viral video circulating online has been digitally altered to falsely depict a banner featuring Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei being unfurled from the museum.