Photo of 2022 May Day crowd shared as recent protests in Cuba

What is the claim?

A photo of a large crowd on the street with some people holding Cuban flags has been shared online with the claim that it shows recent protests in the country over food and electricity shortages. This image was first shared by an X (formerly Twitter) user called ‘WallStreetSilv,’ an account with 1.2 million followers, accompanied by the caption, “BREAKING: The food rationing system in communist Cuba has COLLAPSED. The country is experiencing its worst economic crisis since the end of the Cold War. Looks like communism is working.” While this post was later deleted, an archive of which can be found here, this image was reposted and shared by other users with similar claims.

Former Belgium Prime Minister Guy Maurice Marie Louise Verhofstadt also shared this image on his X account with the caption, “Last week in Cuba …a huge sign of hope in a world dominated by brutal autocracy (Putin) and cruel terrorism (ISIS)!” The post has garnered over 79,000 views; an archive version can be found here. 

 Screenshot of the viral post.(Source: X/Screenshot)

The photo is actually from 2022, during a parade to mark May Day (Labor Day) in Cuba.

How did we verify this?

We conducted a Google reverse search and found a post on Reddit that shared this very image two years ago on a subreddit called R/Cuba. This post was titled ‘Cuba May Day 2022 demonstration.’ This indicates that the now-viral photo has been online for at least two years and cannot be recent. 

We also found a May 2022 Reuters report titled "May Day protests around the world," and one of the images in this image report is very similar to the photo we see in the viral post, but from a different aerial angle. The photo's caption reads, “Thousands march to Revolution Square to mark May Day, in Havana, Cuba,” with photo credits to “REUTERS/Claudia Daut/Pool.” May Day is observed worldwide to commemorate the struggles and contributions of workers and the labor movement. We can note the similarities between the viral post and the photo on Reuters.

Comparison of the viral image with the photo in Reuters report.(Source: X/Reuters/Modified by Logically Facts)

Another Reuters report from May 1, 2022, stated that this parade marked a return after three years of COVID-19 restrictions, with Cuban leaders Miguel Diaz-Canel and Raul Castro also present.

Screenshot of Reuters report.(Source: Reuters/Screenshot)

Although protests have broken out in Cuba over food and electricity shortages as the country is going through an economic crisis — the photo being shared is not from the current protests.

The verdict

An old photo from a May Day parade in Cuba on May 1, 2022, has been shared as a photo from the recent protests in the country. Therefore, we have marked the claim as misleading.