Viral Batman video does not show vigilantes in France

By: Sam Doak
July 5 2023

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Context

On June 27, a French police officer fatally shot 17-year-old Nehal Merzouk in the Parisian suburb of Nanterre. In the days that followed, France experienced widespread civil unrest, with protests and rioting occurring across much of the country.

As these events unfolded, social media users began sharing videos that purportedly showed vigilantes responding to protestors. One clip, which is now viral, shows several men dressed as Batman emerging from a parked van. A post featuring the clip included the caption, "Even Batman Has Had Enough #FrenchRiots #France #Paris #FranceHasFallen #CivilWar #Coup," and was viewed over a million times on Twitter.

In Fact

A reverse image search revealed that the video in question predates the recent protests in France following Mezrouk's killing on June 27. It was posted on Twitter by 'Barstool FSU (@FSU_Barstool)' on May 20. The account had shared a slightly longer version of the video with the caption, "Tallahassee is safe tonight." The video was also posted on Barstool FSU's Instagram account on April 29—weeks before protests erupted in France. 

The account's name and description reference Florida State University (FSU), which has a campus in Tallahassee, U.S. Using Google Earth, Logically Facts was able to geolocate the video to West Madison Street in Tallahassee, confirming that the video is not from France. 

Additional social media posts with the viral clip provided some context regarding the event. One TikTok video, shot from a different angle, includes the caption, "FSU barcrawl fits on the last day of class." The video was shared on April 29 and showed other partygoers in different costumes.

The Verdict

The viral video was not filmed during the recent unrest in France. The footage was captured before the protests in Tallahassee, Florida. The video appears to be a bar crawl organized for students of Florida State University. Therefore, we mark the claim false.