Video shows a commemorative rally in Greek train crash, not a massive protest in Romania

Amid allegations of Russian intervention, after the Romanian presidential election abolished the Romanian presidential election, many demonstrations supported far-right candidate Calin Georgescu to win the first round of the match. In this case, Greek social media users shared a video in early March 2025, who mistakenly claimed that a huge pro-Egricciku, a pro-Russian demonstration was shown in Bucharest. But the clip actually shows thousands of people gathered in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki on February 28, 2025 on the anniversary of a deadly train crash. The same video was shared by the Greek media media, which identified Thessaloniki as its location and the landmark seen in the video confirmed that it was shot there.

Romania's Constitutional Court canceled charges of Russian intervention in support of far-right candidate Calin Georgescu, who unexpectedly won the first round after shooting almost overnight. On February 26, 2025, Romania sued Georgescu, including making “false statements” about his campaign financing and setting up a “fascist, racist or xenophobic organization.” Georgescu denies misconduct. The election will be rerun in May.

In the following months, thousands of Romanians took to the streets to protest the cancellation of the vote. On March 1, thousands of people gathered in the heart of Bucharest to support George Cu.

Not long after, an 11-second clip of a large group of demonstrators began to circulate among Greek social media users, claiming it showed a gracious rally in the Romanian capital.

“The Romanian people turned against the new class elite of Brussels and chose Putin. Bucharest, the capital of Romania, was chanted by millions of protesters, chanting “Russia” and supporting pro-Russian presidential candidate Georgescu, recently on March 3, on March 3, on March 3, on March 3, on March 3, he read to March 3, on March 202, on March 3.

The same video is also shared on Facebook here and in Greek here.

However, these claims are wrong. The video was filmed in Thessaloniki on February 28, 2025, when hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Greek cities to commemorate the second anniversary of the Tempe train crash in central Greece, claiming 57 lives.

Videos taken in Thessaloniki

Reverse video searches have us found the same clips released on X on February 28, 2025 on 24/7. Title: “'In the tempe valley of Thessaloniki, for 57 people in Tempe. “In the tempe valley” is a song by Greek singer and songwriter Sokratis Malamas, which can be heard and played in the clip. The media attributes the video to its reporters Alexandros Litsardakis.

A closer examination of the video identified several elements that were indeed shot in Thessaloniki.

As shown in the screenshot below, using the Invid Weverify plugin's amplifier tool, you can see the dome of the building and the statues in the crowd.

Using Google Maps, we were able to determine that the dome was the historic Bei Chamam bathroom located in Archaia Agora Square in downtown Thessaloniki. The statue is a former Greek politician, Eleftherios Venizelos, a few meters from Bei Chamam.

At the beginning of the video, the corners of the red and black buildings can be seen. By comparing it to the surroundings visible on Google Street View, it can be identified as a building located on 76 Egnatia Street opposite Archaia Agora Square, as shown below.

Finally, as shown in the following image, AFP photographers appeared at the Bucharest demonstration on March 1 at Georgescu supporters.

Many people who saw the protests in Bucharest waving the Romanian flag. In the misleadingly shared video, no Romanian flag is visible.

Greece's massive rally in Tempe train crash

On February 28, 2023, fifty-seven people (mainly students) were killed when a train connecting to Thessaloniki in Athens collided with a freight train in Tempe.

Anger at the government has grown, and polls show that most Greeks believe authorities have hidden important evidence after the crash, slowing down the investigations still underway.

On the second anniversary of the accident, the victim's families called for a day of mobilization. On February 28, 2025, thousands of people gathered in Greek cities, including Thessaloniki, demanding justice for their victims.

On March 5, the Greek opposition party filed a motion to spark a vote of distrust in the government to deal with the country's worst railway tragedy.

AFP has verified another false claim about the demonstrations of the train crash anniversary here.