No, this video doesn’t show Christians protesting in Paris over the Olympic opening ceremony

3 months ago 3

A viral video clip is being shared with false claims that it shows Christian demonstrators protesting at the Olympics. It was taken at an unrelated event in May.

Organizers of the Paris Olympics faced criticism from religious leaders across the world after some claimed a display during the opening ceremony evoked scenes from Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper.” Da Vinci’s painting depicts the moment when Jesus Christ declared that an apostle would betray him. The scene during Friday’s ceremony featured DJ and producer Barbara Butch — an LGBTQ+ icon — flanked by drag artists and dancers.

The ceremony’s artistic director Thomas Jolly distanced his scene from any “The Last Supper” parallels after the ceremony, saying it was meant to celebrate diversity and pay tribute to Greek mythology and French cuisine. Paris 2024 spokesperson Anne Descamps also apologized to anyone who may have been offended by the display.

Following the backlash, a video that shows a large crowd of Christian demonstrators near the Eiffel Tower was posted on social media, and has more than a million views. The video is being shared with claims it shows the crowd gathering in protest of the opening ceremony.

“CHRISTIAN WORSHIP SERVICE BREAKS OUT IN PARIS AFTER OLYMPICS OPENING CEREMONY,” text on top of the video posted to TikTok says.

Many people who commented on the video believed it was from the Olympics, but because of the lack of news coverage of such a large gathering, the VERIFY team looked into the authenticity of the video.

THE QUESTION

Does this video show Christians protesting in Paris over the Olympic opening ceremony?

THE SOURCES

THE ANSWER

No, this video doesn’t show Christians protesting in Paris over the Olympic opening ceremony.

WHAT WE FOUND

While there have been reports of other religious protests in response to the opening ceremony, this viral video doesn’t show such a protest in Paris. This video was first posted online months before the Olympic ceremonies kicked off.

Using video and photo forensics tools InVid and RevEye, VERIFY was able to trace this video to a post on Instagram from May 25, 2024, posted by Jean Luc Trachsel. The first day of the Olympic opening ceremony was on July 26.

In both videos, the same music is playing, the same performer can be seen in the videos, and the same sign that says “Jesus T’aime” (Jesus I love you) appears.

According to the caption on the original video, it was taken during the annual “March for Jesus” festival. The Christian Broadcasting Network reported at the time that there were more than 25,000 people who attended the march. The "March For Jesus France" website says the first march took place in Paris in 1991 and has since expanded to other participating cities across the world.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The VERIFY team works to separate fact from fiction so that you can understand what is true and false. Please consider subscribing to our daily newsletter, text alerts and our YouTube channel. You can also follow us on Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. Learn More »