Old images passed off as scenes from the recent anti-Brexit rally in London

Context

On September 23, 2023, thousands of people joined the National Rejoin March in London that went from Park Lane, outside the London Hilton, to Parliament Square, waving European Union (EU) flags and calling for the U.K. to rejoin the EU. 

What is the claim?

In this context, two images are being shared, claiming to be from the recently-held protest. 

One such post on X reads, “So not even a brief mention on @BBCNews tonight of the massive #RejoinMarch in London with many 1000s demonstrating to reverse Brexit. The people the Tories placed in BBC management have done their job.” The post has garnered 7,68,900 views at the time of writing this story. The image is also being shared on Facebook with a similar claim. 

Another image of a massive crowd is also being shared.

Screenshot of posts circulated online. (Source: Facebook/ X/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)

While the anti-Brexit rally did see a large turnout, these images are old and unrelated to the recent demonstration.

Image 1

The image claims to be from a recent protest in London. (Source: X/Screenshot)

A reverse image search on the image led us to a report published by Reuters on October 19, 2019. The report includes the same image, which is captioned, “EU supporters march as Parliament sits on a Saturday for the first time since 1982 Falklands war, to discuss Brexit in London, Britain, October 19, 2019.” 

The image is credited to Reuters’ photojournalist Henry Nicholls. The report notes that the march was held calling out for a new Brexit referendum, and it also celebrated the Parliament's decision to withhold the final judgment on Britain’s departure from the EU.

Comparison between the viral image and the Reuters image. (Source: X/Reuters/Screenshot)

Image 2

The image claims to be from a recent protest in London. (Source: X/Screenshot)

We found this image on Getty Images, captioned, “Donald Trump Is Sworn In As 45th President Of The United States.” The description notes that the image is from Donald J. Trump’s inaugural ceremony as he became the 45th president of the United States on January 20, 2017. It adds that Vice President Mike Pence also took an oath of office from Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

Image as seen on Getty Images website. (Source: Getty Images/Screenshot)

The New York Times report from 2017 also included a similar picture from the ceremony.

Clearly, the two images are old and not linked to the recent rally.

The verdict

The images in question are old and date back to 2019 and 2017; they are unrelated to recent protests seen in London seeking to rejoin the EU. Therefore, we have marked the claim as misleading.