Screenshot of misleading claims shared on Facebook. Taken on October 30th
The photo was circulated in similar posts on Facebook, here and here, and on Ilbe, a South Korean forum popular with far-right groups.
Comments on the post suggest that social media users were misled into thinking the photo showed protests against the October 27 church service.
“The large number of believers attending seems to have scared away gay people,” one user wrote.
“We were outside praying for their poor souls,” said another.
However, there is still no official report on LGBTQ anti-protests against Christian worship on October 27, 2024.
Moreover, the photos shared on social media are old.
2023 Pride Parade
A reverse image search on Google turned up a photo published by the Associated Press (AP) on July 1, 2023 under the title “Korean Pride Parade” (archive link).
“Participants wave at trucks during a parade as part of the Seoul Queer Culture Festival on Saturday, July 1, 2023 in Seoul, South Korea,” the AP caption reads.
“Despite opposition from some demonstrators, thousands of people gathered to enjoy the festival on Saturday,” Yonhap News reported.
Below is a comparison of a screenshot of an image shared on Facebook with a false claim (left) and an AP photo taken in July 2023 (right).
Comparison of screenshots of the image shared on Facebook with false claims (left) and the original photo taken by The Associated Press in July 2023 (right)
The Associated Press photo appeared in various coverage of the Pride festival, including the Hong Kong-based newspaper South China Morning Post and Germany’s Passauer Neue Presse (archives here and here).
The same performer standing on a float can also be seen in YouTube footage from the 2023 Soul Queer Parade, posted with the caption that it was filmed on July 1, 2023 (archive link).
AFP also took photos of the 2023 parade, showing the same float from a distance and from a different angle.
According to the organization’s website (archive link), the Soul Queer Parade was held on June 1, 2024.
AFP news agency previously debunked false reports about the number of participants at South Korean Pride events.
