False: Chinese military convoy is heading towards Beijing for an alleged coup.

By: Rahul Adhikari
September 27 2022

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Context:

Rumors about an alleged military coup in China against President Xi Jinping have stormed social media recently. Several false claims related to the alleged coup have also surfaced in the last few days. A video was shared on Twitter with one such claim that the Chinese military is going to take all powers in its own hands in China. In the 53-second video, a military convoy is seen on the road. The tanks in the convoy have Chinese flags on them. A user claimed that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), Chinese premier military force, was seen near Beijing during the ongoing coup. The tweet's caption read, "Chinese #PLA convoy seen near #Beijing #XiJinping #chinacoup #China."

In fact:

A reverse image search of a keyframe of the video led us to a post shared on the Russian social media platform VK on May 29, 2021. The post shared the same viral video with the caption, "Chinese tanks are already in Russia. China's occupation of the Asian part of Russia is systematically going to its final phase." 

The same video was uploaded on a Russian YouTube channel, Vladimir LIVE (Владимир ЛАЙВ), on May 25, 2021. The video was titled - "Chinese occupation of Russia! Chinese tanks are already in Russia."

Our investigation revealed that the viral video was shared on the internet in 2021 with the claim that the Chinese army was heading toward Russian borders to occupy the Asian part of the country. We couldn't find the exact location or the origin of the video. However, we ascertained that this video is old and has nothing to do with a coup in China.

We also didn't find any report of China occupying the Asian part of Russia or any Chinese attack on Russia. China has been an ally of Russia, and both countries have held multiple military drills over the past few years. According to a video report by South Morning China Post dated September 24, 2020, Russian troops took part in a week of joint military drills with their counterparts from China and other countries. Even during the Russia-Ukraine conflict, a BBC article dated April 14, 2022, reported, "China has sought to remain neutral in the conflict, calling for a peaceful solution. But it has yet to condemn the Russian invasion and has criticized western sanctions." 

LiveMint reported that Xi Jinping attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Uzbekistan on September 16. After this, On September 24, several rumors started circulating on social media and other platforms regarding the alleged military coup in China. Rumors, like Chinese flights canceled, Xi Jinping is under house arrest and removed Xi from PLA have been going viral on social media. However, the Chinese government or any state-controlled organization in China has not given any official statement on the alleged military coup allegations, Hindustan Times reported. Xi Jinping is, in fact, running for a third term for the country’s top post.

The verdict:

An old video of a Chinese military convoy from 2021 is being shared as footage from an alleged coup against President Xi Jinping. The PLA is not involved in a coup against the Chinese government. Hence, we have marked this claim as false.