Protest imagery: 15 false, misleading claims we've debunked

Student protests over the condition of schools in France recently escalated to broader demonstrations against a rising cost of living, ultimately splintering into what The New York Times described as "chaos" and sparking an outpouring of false or misleading claims about the severity of the demonstrations. While shocking truths can come to light thanks to acts of protest, the flip side for fact-checkers is a growing number of requests to verify claims that involve visual media like images and videos. The unregulated use of artificial intelligence tools and the fast-spreading nature of social media have made it easy for such false or misleading claims about protests to spread. We dug into the Snopes archives to collect a variety of claims that involved fake or misleading images or videos related to protests. Sources Le Stradic, Ségolène. "The School Near Paris That Shows Why French Students Are Protesting." The New York Times, 7 Oct. 2026, www.nytimes.com/2026/10/07/world/europe/france-school-protest-paul-eluard.html. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.Nierenberg, Amelia, and Catherine Porter. "Huge Riots and Antigovernment Protests in France: What to Know." The New York Times, 3 Oct. 2026, www.nytimes.com/article/france-student-protests-why.html. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.Porter, Catherine, and Ségolène Le Stradic. "A Day After Huge Riots in France, Shock and Recrimination." The New York Times, 18 Oct. 2026, www.nytimes.com/2026/10/18/world/europe/france-protests-shock-arson.html. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026. By Joey Esposito Joey Esposito has written for a variety of entertainment publications. He's into music, video games ... and birds. Article Tags