Did Protesters Spare a "Muslim Shop"? Inside a 12 Million-View Video [Fact Check]

[Anchor]

Amid intensifying protests in France, fake news and fabricated information that fuel xenophobia are running rampant. The Fact Check team looked into the truth behind these claims in collaboration with French media.

Reporter Lee Gyeong-won has the details.

[Reporter]

A woman, appearing to be a shop owner, holds a stick to block protesters, while surrounding men say something to stop her.

Uploaded to social media two weeks ago, the video quickly spread—including to South Korea—alongside claims that the protesters held back their attacks because the store owner was a fellow Muslim, and that not a single Muslim-owned shop had been targeted.

It has surpassed 12 million views.

The SBS Fact Check team asked the Seoul bureau of Le Figaro, a leading French daily, to verify what was actually being said. The men's remarks were translated as follows:

[She's a woman. She's a woman, and she's alone. Everyone, go back. Please, go back.]

The translation shows they were merely telling others to stop the attack because she was a lone woman, with no mention of any Muslim-related expressions.

The shop owner also appeared to be wearing a hijab at first glance, but a closer look revealed she had long, black hair.

[mon frère! mon frère!]

Claims were also shared that this phrase meant Muslim in French, but it was actually a term of address among men, equivalent to "bro" in English.

Meanwhile, a video showing a Palestinian flag at the top of the Eiffel Tower turned out to be AI-generated, and another widely circulated video portrayed as an immigrant protest was verified to be soccer fans celebrating Paris Saint-Germain's UEFA Champions League victory in May.

The French daily Le Monde noted that such fake videos push the demands of protesters into the background and frame the situation around identity issues such as race and religion.

(Video Editing: Choi Hye-young, Design: Cho Su-in, VJ: Kim Jun-ho)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.