The United Kingdom has reaffirmed its support for the Ukrainian government following a heated exchange between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House. This incident led to the circulation of a misleading video claiming that British protesters supported Trump and opposed their government’s stance. In reality, the video was recorded in 2018, showing Trump supporters and far-right activists protesting for the release of their group leaders.
A post claiming a “protest in support of Trump to end the Ukraine war” has been debunked. The video actually dates back to 2018 and shows Trump supporters and far-right activists rallying for the release of their movement leaders.
The United Kingdom has reaffirmed its support for the Ukrainian government following a heated exchange between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House. This incident led to the circulation of a misleading video claiming that British protesters supported Trump and opposed their government’s stance. In reality, the video was recorded in 2018, showing Trump supporters and far-right activists protesting for the release of their group leaders. (Recorded Link)
The meeting took place two days after Trump and Zelensky had a heated exchange, which ended with Trump expelling the Ukrainian leader from the White House and criticizing him as “not ready” for peace talks with Russia (Recorded Link).
Trump then decided to suspend military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine, before reversing the decision after Ukraine accepted a temporary ceasefire proposal on March 11. Meanwhile, Russian authorities said they were still reviewing the details of the proposal and had not yet shown any sign of ending the war, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives over the past three years (Recorded Link).
This video has been shared with similar false claims on both Facebook and X, garnering millions of views.
One comment said, “Let’s become the 51st state, ahead of Canada.”
Another stated, “The British have gotten smarter, refusing to waste tax money and soldiers’ lives for Ukraine.”
However, this is actually a protest video from 2018.
The protest on Whitehall Street
A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the false post’s video revealed a longer version of the same footage, uploaded to YouTube on July 16, 2018. (Recorded Link)
The description indicates that the video was recorded during a rally in support of Donald Trump and in advocacy for the release of far-right activist Tommy Robinson, held on July 14, 2018, near Whitehall Street, home to several government offices in London. (Recorded Link)
At the time, Trump was serving his first term as U.S. President and was on an official visit to the UK to meet with Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May. (Recorded Link)
Trump supporters—often referred to as the “alt-right” shared the protest space with demonstrators backing Tommy Robinson, an anti-Muslim activist who had been arrested for live-streaming outside a courthouse in violation of legal reporting restrictions during an active trial. (Recorded Link)
Photos from the protest were published on AFP’s image archive.
British media outlets, including Sky News and the Evening Standard, reported on the demonstration, noting minor clashes and the arrest of 12 protesters. (Recorded Links here and here)
Sky News reported that thousands of people joined a rally supporting Trump, which was organized as a counter-protest to demonstrations against the U.S. leader’s visit held the day before. It was described as one of the largest protests in the UK, with over 100,000 participants.
Source: AFP
Academics suggest that fake images were used to create mass support for Donald Trump.
Assistant Professor Dr. Prapee Apichatsakol, a lecturer in the Bachelor of Laws Program at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Srinakharinwirot University, and Vice President of the American Studies Association in Thailand, shared her insights on the spread of fake images related to European conflicts. She noted that since Donald Trump assumed the U.S. presidency, news involving him has become a daily spectacle and a frequent topic of conversation.
“Although the purpose of posting such videos remains unclear, it could be interpreted as an attempt to suggest that, outside the U.S., there are still supporters of President Donald Trump and his actions,” she said.
While it cannot be definitively stated whether a majority of British citizens support Donald Trump, what is evident is the UK government’s continued support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. This is particularly reflected in Zelenskyy’s recent visit to meet the King of England a symbolic gesture reinforcing the UK’s alignment with Ukraine, despite the recent heated exchange between Zelenskyy and President Trump.
As for the dissemination of unrelated images in this manner, it is believed that such fake news is merely an attempt to convince people that the British support President Donald Trump. This strategy aims to sway those who believe the misinformation to support or align with Trump. The spread of such false or misleading posts further amplifies misunderstandings.
