Is it true that in Iraq they held marches of Jesus in response to the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Paris?

In August 2024, a video allegedly shot at the mass event of Middle Eastern Christians was dispersed over the network. It was claimed that the organizers held him in protest against the opening ceremony of the Paris Games. We checked whether such a description is correct.

On August 10 and 11, on the eve and on the day of the closing ceremony of the Olympics in Paris, Telegram channels reported that in the near future they plan to repeat the march of Jesus, held earlier in response to the opening ceremony. The publications attached a 35-second video, allegedly capturing the first of two processions. On it, people in uniform with a huge image of Jesus Christ march to the sounds of a religious anthem along the street of a city.

In Telegram, this video distributed channels such as "Talking of townsfolk in the kitchen"(171,000 views at the time of writing this analysis),"Sheikh Tamir"(163,000),"Heaven is"(140 000),"Freshness"(66,000) and"Informant"(53,000).

Opening Ceremony of the XXXII Summer Olympic Games in Paris CALL wide resonance from religious figures, conservative politicians and activists from around the world. The main triggers of such a reaction were a show with the participation of drag artists, in which many saw a parody of the painting of Leonardo da Vinci "Secret Supper" (regarding whether it was she thought, comments of the organizers and participants Disractible), as well as a faceless rider, who was considered the embodiment of one of the riders of the apocalypse.

At the same time, a large number of fakes and the news torn from the context of the opening ceremony were hit the network. "Checked" already onceBirALO Some of them. In particular, shortly after the start of the Internet games, a video bypassed, on which a crowd of people with candles in their hands sings psalms. It was claimed that these are French believers who decided to “cleanse” the country after the opening ceremony. As it turned out later, the video was shot in 2022 in Lourda, the center of Christian pilgrimage.

“Verified” did not find in authoritative sources the evidence that such a promotion was recently held in Iraq. Neither large media nor religious organizations of this country, such as Patriarchate, wrote about her Chaldean Catholic Church, the largest Christian church in the country. At the same time, Patriarchate in social networks condemned The opening ceremony of the Olympics in Paris, comparing it with burning The Qur'an in Sweden last year.

On the viral video, you can see the Instagram logo and a mark indicating, apparently, to the account from which the video was taken.

Indeed, July 27, the day after the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympiad, user @thejkeffect (he has more than 100,000 subscribers on Instagram) Published Video, which later became viral. The text in the publication read: “A certificate of power of faith! Become witnesses of the power of faith! In a wonderful manifestation of devotion, the Iraqi people went together, raising their voices in unison, proclaiming: "Jesus is the king!" This incredible moment demonstrates the deep connection of the country with Christianity. Despite the difficulties, their faith remains unshakable. Let this be evidence of the stamina of the Iraqi people and the universal language of love and hope that Christianity carries. ”

As you can see, the text does not say anything about the Olympic Games. Moreover, the opposite search In Google, one of the frames of the video leads to many other posts published, including two years earlier. In particular, July 2, 2022, Tiktok @Catholic.marcos Placed The same video with the subtate "Chaldean troops at the Iraqi military parade." There was no musical accompaniment in that video, and in version 2024 the song Jesus is King sounds to the music of the composition of O Fortuna from the cantata of Karl Orf Carmina Burana, which does not correspond to the rhythm of marching (probably audio traffic was applied over the video). Execution reminds Arranging for the choir under the leadership of Kanye West.

As for the video sector itself, the analysis of the details in the background (a portrait of the deceased commander of the folk mobilization forces of Iraq Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a large screen, palm trees) allows you to say that the video was shot in the city of El Khalis in Muhafaz Dihyal northwest of Baghdad. July 23, 2022 there Passed military parade, in which the same group of people with crosses on black clothes took part as in a viral video.

Judging by the subtitles and signatures for another videofilmed at the same time in the same location, fighters are captured on it 50th brigade "Kataib Babilia" forces of the folk mobilization of Iraq. It has existed since 2017 and has been positioning itself as a Christian armed force. The record was placed in his account on Facebook by the commander of the Osama al-Kildani unit.

At the same time, the Chaldean Catholic Church is more than once declared, What Has not Nothing to do with this and other armed formations collected by religious. So soon after the July parade of 2022, representatives of the organization condemned the use of Christian symbols in it. Appropriate publication On the site of the Patriarchate of the Church, it is illustrated by a frame from a viral video.

At the same time, due to the difference in the dates of the publication of the original video, which subsequently dispersed through social networks, and the news about the parade (the beginning and end of July, respectively), when all other details coincide, it can be assumed that the author of the video captured only the rehearsal of the procession. In favor of this version is also evidenced by the turned off the screen on the viral video.

Thus, the viral video does not capture Jesus march against the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Paris, but the marching in Iraq in 2022 (probably at the rehearsal of the military parade).

In Russian, video with an incorrect signature first appeared on August 10 at 22:26 Moscow time in the Telegram channel "Freshness". This resource repeatedly appeared in parsing “Retrieve” as one of the sources of misinformation.

Photo on the cover: social networks

Fake

What do our verdicts mean?

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