By: Ishita Goel
June 2 2023
2016 video of migrants trying to block truck in France peddled as recent incident in U.S.
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Fact-Check
The Verdict False
The video shows migrants attacking trucks in Calais, France, in 2016. It is unrelated to the end of Title 42 and does not show an incident in the U.S.
Claim ID 904c369f
Context
Title 42 was an emergency order adopted in the U.S. in March 2020 by then-President Donald Trump. The order passed due to COVID-19, restricted migrants entering the U.S. from its border Mexico due to fears of spreading the virus. Title 42 enabled border officials to rapidly expel migrants and deny them a chance to seek asylum. The policy was lifted on May 11, 2023, after the U.S. COVID public health emergency ended. The end of Title 42 in the U.S. has led to a surge in misleading and false claims on social media.
A video showing a group of people blocking the path of a vehicle at night is going viral on TikTok, where it has been shared with captions claiming it is from the U.S. Stickers on the videos claimed that migrants were lying on the road, blocking and attacking trucks at night. TikTok users have shared these videos criticizing President Joe Biden, implying such incidents are a consequence of the end of Title 42.
However, the video is unrelated to the U.S. and shows an old incident in France.
In Fact
A reverse image search led us to the YouTube account of Der Spiegel, a German news website, that posted this video on September 20, 2016. The video was captioned, "Truck driver films journey to the Eurotunnel: 'Refugees climbed onto the loading area'." The website credited the video to Miroslaw Ferenc, the driver. The description box explained that a Polish truck driver filmed his nightly tour of the Euro Tunnel near Calais, France.
On September 30, 2016, ZMPD, the Association of International Road Carriers in Poland, published a piece on immigrants attacking Calais. The report also shared the viral video, stating it was taken by Ferenc, when immigrants tried to stop his truck while it was crossing the port of Calais.
In 2016, the port city saw attacks by immigrants on trucks for months, reports said. A report by The Guardian from September 2016 said that work had begun on a £1.9 million wall that would block migrants and asylum seekers from attempting to board lorries heading to the Calais port. Between 2015 and 2016, over 84,000 migrants and refugees were caught while trying to illegally enter the U.K. at ports like Calais, the report said. According to the Washington Post, truck drivers held a protest in September 2016, threatening to block the port until the city's major migrant camp, Jungle, was dismantled.
The same video was also shared on Twitter, claiming that it showed a recent incident in May 2023 in Calais, France.
With Title 42 being lifted, the Biden administration will instead use another decades-old law, Title 8, as the basis of their immigration policy. The end of Title 42 has led to a rise in confusion, anti-immigrant sentiment, and claims of "invasions" at the border. Logically Facts has previously debunked similar claims.
The Verdict
The video is unrelated to the U.S. and is an old video from 2016, taken in France. It has been falsely linked to the U.S. following changes to the country's immigration policies.