Misleading: Old pro-Palestinian march video in Scotland presented as recent
On Sept. 11, American political commentator Jackson Hinkle posted a video on X (archived here) that he said showed a pro-Palestinian march in Scotland, describing it as a “massive protest” and suggesting the footage was recent, with the word “new” in the caption.
The post has garnered 62,000 likes and 14,000 shares, and the same video has been shared on Facebook and Threads with similar claims.
However, this claim is misleading.
The earliest known posting of this video dates back to Dec. 2, 2023. Arabic‑language news aggregator Nabd (archived here) published it, and the following day, the pro‑Palestinian media archive Gaza Memoria used the same footage (archived here).
Annie Lab found a Facebook post (archived here) calling for participation in the rally on Dec. 2, 2023 in Edinburgh by the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
We also found a notice about the same protest from the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in the United Kingdom, along with licenced images taken that day through stock photo agency Alamy.
One photo on Alamy shows protesters in front of Bank of Scotland Private Banking, about 170 meters from where the viral video was originally filmed.
After geolocating the exact area of the protest using the street view available on Google Maps, we determined that the video was taken at The Mound, next to the National Galleries of Scotland.
The placards in the viral video also match those seen in the 2023 demonstration. The most prominent posters read “Stop the massacre” under the word “Gaza” and “CEASEFIRE NOW! STOP THE GENOCIDE” all in caps.
Why is this going viral again?
In September 2025, Scottish First Minister John Swinney announced that arms companies supplying the Israel Defense Forces would be barred from receiving Scottish government grants and investment support (archived here).
A year later, however, left-wing political party Scottish Greens said the policy had not been backed by legislative changes and that companies named in a United Nations database of businesses involved in illegal Israeli settlements were still receiving Scottish government support, including through arrangements such as the government’s bond scheme.
Al Jazeera also published a detailed investigation revealing the extent of UK public sector contracts tied to “illegal” West Bank settlements (archived here).
On Sept. 14, 2026, the Scottish Greens tabled a parliamentary motion to automatically disqualify any company, parent company or subsidiary involved in illegal Israeli settlements from public procurement, grants and other forms of Scottish government support (archived here).
The old video, presented as a recent large-scale demonstration, began recirculating in the days before the vote, which was held on Sept. 16 and passed.
Other pro-Palestinian protests and campaigns unrelated to the parliamentary debate have also taken place in Scotland in recent weeks.
For example, on Sept. 9, a small group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered outside the Sentinel building on Waterloo Street in Glasgow, targeting the insurance company Chubb over its alleged links to the Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems, according to Glasgow Times (archived here).
A freelance journalist posted a video of the same event on Instagram (archived here).
On Sept. 21, the Scottish Trades Union Congress released a statement (archived here) calling for Construcciones y Auxiliar de Forrocarriles S.A (CAF) to be removed from the shortlist of bidders for a new ScotRail suburban train fleet.
The STUC cited CAF’s role in expanding the Jerusalem Light Rail system into illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, and noted that the company is listed in the UN database of businesses involved in such activity.
