Claim
Several social media users uploaded a picture of a congested crowd apparently taken in Nigeria claiming it to be a picture of Nigerians protesting against police brutality.
The picture has got thousands of reactions on Twitter after it was uploaded by Aubrey Hruby, an American based Africa Investment Advisor, claiming the picture shows young and ambitious African #EndSARS protesters who want to be heard.
Full Text
The picture was uploaded by a Twitter user Aubrey Hruby who claimed in a tweet that the picture shows what Africa looks like with young, ambitious men and women wanting to be heard.
“This is what Africa looks like. Young, ambitious & wanting to be heard. #EndSARS movement in Nigeria reminds us of a quote by Thomas Jefferson, “What country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?”
The picture was also uploaded by U.S-based Nigerian journalist, Farooq Kperogi, on his blog as a cover picture to his article, titled “#EndSWAT/#EndSARS Youth Steamroller and Theory of Rational Ignorance”
Verification
Using reverse image search, the picture was found to be an old picture taken in Nigeria and used repeatedly by various newspapers to depict a large number of people in Nigeria.
The picture shows people who gathered during a protest against the scrapping of oil subsidy at Gani Fawehinmi Park, Ojota in Lagos on January 12, 2012.
In 2018, Premium Times used the picture as an illustration to the story on the number of people who might start 2019 in extreme poverty, according to the United Nations Commission for Africa (UNECA).
In 2017, the same picture was used to illustrate the population of Lagos State as one of the most populous cities in the world with 24.2 million people, according to the Business a.m, an online platform.
The picture was also used severally by many platforms in 2019 to depict the population boom in Nigeria.
Conclusion:
The picture of a crowd circulating on social media to depict the number of #EndSARS protesters in Nigeria is an old one that has been circulating on the internet since 2012.
The picture shows people who gathered during a protest against the scrapping of oil subsidy at Gani Fawehinmi Park, Ojota in Lagos on January 12, 2012.
This fact-check is produced per HumAngle partnership with the Dubawa 2020 Fellowship to facilitate the ethos of “truth” in journalism and enhance media literacy in Nigeria.
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