University protests have generated misinformation online. Here's what's true and false.
The large-scale anti-war protests at many universities in the U.S. immediately garnered the attention of national news networks and social media users alike. What started as a single protest at Columbia University quickly spread to universities across the country, as demonstrators gathered within encampments to demand their schools sever all financial ties with Israel and Israeli companies.
Some social media users have misrepresented the nature of the protests, falsely linking them to violent flyers and outdated photographs, while others have inaccurately described the universities' responses to the demonstrations.
Here's a roundup of fact-checks about the university protests from the USA TODAY Fact-Check Team.
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Claim: Protestors spraypainted 'Free Palastine' on steps at Columbia University
Our rating: Partly false
The misspelling happened, but not where the post claims it did. The picture shows the vandalized front steps of a building at the University of Ottawa in Canada, not Columbia University in New York. Read more
Claim: US banned the phrase 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free'
Our rating: False
The House of Representatives passed a resolution in April condemning the Pro-Palestinian chant, "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free." But the resolution did not prohibit or ban the use of the phrase. Read more
Claim: Image shows Ole Miss student protesters holding pro-Trump banner
Our rating: Altered
The "Trump won" banner was digitally added to the image. The original photo shows the students holding a U.S. flag. Read more
Claim: Post implies image shows woman at pro-Palestinian demonstration
Our rating: Missing context
The implied claim is wrong. The woman shown in the image was attending a demonstration unrelated to Palestinian causes. That protest in Tbilisi, Georgia, was held in opposition to a bill being considered by lawmakers. Read more
Claim: Jill Stein said Jewish people have a homeland in Poland and only 0.1% of Jews are Zionists
Our rating: False
Stein did not say either of those things in the clip. An automatic captioning program erroneously quoted her as saying Jewish people “have Poland” when she said they “have homeland.” She also did not say 0.1% of Jews are Zionists. Read more
The claim: Image shows a paraglider installation at Columbia University protest
Our rating: Altered
The image is fabricated. Photos of the same scene published by legitimate news outlets do not show the supposed paraglider installation, nor is there any reporting on the supposed display. The figures shown in the image match Apple’s parachute emoji. Read more
Claim: It’s now illegal to protest in Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas
Our rating: False
The First Amendment guarantees Americans the right to protest. The claim is a mischaracterization of a case in which an appellate court ruled a protest organizer could be held liable for an attendee assaulting a police officer. The case did not ban protesting. Read more
Claim: Harvard University raised Palestinian flag in place of US flag
Our rating: False
Student protesters, not the university itself, raised the Palestinian flag, according to school officials and media reports. Read more
Claim: Video shows Robert De Niro yelling at anti-Israel protesters
Our rating: False
The video shows De Niro rehearsing his script for an upcoming TV show, not yelling at anti-Israel protesters. Read more
Claim: Image shows protestors blocking Jewish people from entering Columbia University in April 2024
Our rating: False
The attempted comparison falls flat since the color photo doesn't show the April 2024 protests. It was taken during a separate pro-Palestinian protest at Columbia University in October 2023. There's no evidence the protestors in the 2023 photo were blocking access to the college campus. Read more
Claim: Columbia University canceled all in-person classes until end of semester (on April 23)
Our rating: False
This is a misrepresentation of the school's updated class guidelines. The university president announced that all classes would be held remotely on April 22 because of protests, but most classes were subsequently switched to hybrid or in-person for the remainder of the semester. Read more
Claim: Image shows 'rape is resistance' flyer distributed at Columbia protest
Our rating: False
The photo of the flyer has been circulating on social media platforms since at least March 11, more than a month before students set up a protest camp at Columbia University. A university official said he was not aware of any such flyers being distributed. Read more
Claim: Video shows pro-Palestinian rallies held in response to student suspensions at Columbia University
Our rating: False
The video is miscaptioned. It shows pro-Palestinian demonstrations that were held in Norway before students at Columbia University set up a protest camp. Read more
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: University protests produce swarm of misinformation | Fact checks
