The protests were falsely portrayed as anti-immigration as part of a coordinated disinformation campaign. A video circulating widely on social media falsely claims to show recent mass demonstrations in Greece over the number of illegal migrants and refugees entering the country.
One of the poststhat the Euroverify team uncovered, was displayed on X at least 1.2 million times and has been artificially amplified by several bot-like bills.
https://twitter.com/RadioEuropes/status/1896109249429897243
We checked the video and found that it actually shows the protest action of 28 February near Syntagma Square in central Athens, held to mark two years since the fatal train crash in which two trains collided head-on in the Greek village of Tempi.
The accident claimed the lives of 57 people, mostly students. Relatives of the victims are still waiting for answers two years later and no trial has been held.
Similar demonstrations took place on 28 February in cities across Greece, where public and private sector workers and trade unions went on strike for 24 hours, bringing many businesses and services to a standstill.
It is estimated that tens of thousands of people gathered in Syntagma Square in Athens that morning. One of the protesters held a banner reading "Government of murderers".
The claims that the protesters took to the streets because of the arrival of illegal migrants and refugees are unfounded and apparently part of a fabricated disinformation campaign.
Why did the protests erupt?
The long-awaited report, published a day before the protests, blames human factors, outdated infrastructure and serious systemic failures for the 2023 rail crash.
However, the families of the victims and opposition leaders accused the centre-right government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of mishandling the investigation and failing to implement promised reforms.
Public protests are growing and last Friday led to a vote of no confidence in the Mitsotakis government, which was eventually rejected by parliament.
His ruling party faces accusations of a possible cover-up: a recent poll suggested that seven out of ten Greeks believe the government is covering up for those responsible.
The scene was reportedly cleared several days after the accident, prompting speculation that critical evidence had been removed.
Video footage released after the accident shows a huge explosion after the crash, which many believe indicates that the freight train that collided head-on with the passenger train was carrying illegal flammable substances.
A forensic investigator hired by the families of the victims says 30 of the 57 passengers who died initially survived the collision but then perished in a fire that broke out due to highly flammable cargo carried on one of the trains.
Last week, the Greek parliament set up a commission of inquiry to examine whether former deputy minister for climate crisis and civil protection Christos Triantopoulos obstructed previous investigations by ordering the destruction of debris and tampering with the accident site.
What do we know about the disinformation campaign?
The spectacular scenes of tens of thousands of people gathered in the areas around Syntagma Square were falsely described as a protest against migrants.
X Radio Europe account, known for spreading misleading and false information, claimed that the video showed "mass riots in Greece", where demonstrators called for the "resignation of the globalist traitor government".
"Every day more than 500 illegal migrants arrive in Greece on boats," the paper adds.
We verified this claim with data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) at the UN and found that 40 arrivals of migrants and refugees were recorded in Greece during the week of the protest.
Post racked up at least 1.2 million views on X and was also amplified by a number of bot-like accounts.
We found content circulating in English, French, Portuguese, Spanish and Polish.
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