Photo does not show truckers praying in 2022
Photo does not show truckers praying in 2022
(Reuters) - A widely shared image on social media showing a group of men kneeling in a circle has been circulating since at least March 2020. Some online, however, have miscaptioned the image as if it showed truckers praying amid the protests against COVID-19 restrictions in Canada.
Recent iterations of the image on social media include a superimposed text that reads: “Truckers gather to pray for guidance and protection.” Examples on Facebook have garnered over 12,000 reactions as of the writing of this article.
Some online comments on this picture suggest that the image is related to the recent truckers’ protests in Canada opposing the government’s pandemic restrictions which have also ignited demonstrations in other countries.
“Honestly, these are the troublemakers, Trudeau wants to arrest and throw in jail...maybe Trudeau needs to look within himself and pray,” one Facebook user wrote, referring to the Canadian prime minister.
“Really a bunch of unruly protesters aren’t they! Trudeau should be so ashamed of his decisions! He does not have the character nor the integrity to be a true leader of that beautiful country!” another one commented.
“All these people want is to be left in peace to raise their families and not be restricted by criminal mandates,” part of another post reads.
The image, however, is not recent and is not related to demonstrations against COVID-19 restrictions.
Reuters could not definitively source the image or the location where it was captured, but it has been circulating since at least March 2020.
The picture is featured in an article by Honduran outlet La Prensa from March 31st, 2020. The picture was posted on Twitter by the Honduran Institute of Ground Transportation on March 30, 2020 and described as drivers “starting their workday with a prayer.”
Reuters found earlier iterations of the picture, with a slightly higher quality, that date to March 23, 2020 on Facebook and Twitter. One of the pages that posted the image at the time is administered from Guatemala and the United States; another user appears to be from Bolivia.
The tank in one of the trucks viewable in the back of the picture carries the text “Inflamable” in red letters (Spanish for flammable), further suggesting the image was captured in a Spanish-speaking country.
Reuters has previously addressed other footage erroneously described as if showing the trucker’s demonstrations in 2022.
VERDICT
Miscaptioned. This image has been circulating since at least March 2020 and is not related to the 2022 truckers protests against COVID-19 restrictions.
