Claim: A clip shows ongoing protests in Tehran caused by poverty, starvation, unemployment, the non-payment of salaries and pensions, uncertainty, instability, and terrorism.
Fact: The footage posted is from January 2026, and not from August 2026. Hence, the claim is misleading.
A Facebook account called ‘Publication and Research Organization’ posted a 13-second video displaying large crowds on unnamed streets protesting. The user posted this video with an Urdu caption below:
ھا جس کا انتظار وہ شاھکار آ گیا بھوک ننگ غربت فاقوں بے روزگاری تنخواھوں پنشن کی عدم ادائیگیوں غیر یقینی صورتحال بدامنی دھشتگردی سے تنگ ایرانی عوام تہران سمیت ایران کے متعدد شہروں میں باھر نکل آئے ھیں یہ مظاھروں کا مسلسل دوسرا روز ھے۔ ایرانی د ھشتگرد اسے امریکی پشت پناھی کہہ رھ
[Translation:”Yes, the long-awaited moment has arrived. The Iranian people—weary of hunger, destitution, poverty, starvation, unemployment, the non-payment of salaries and pensions, uncertainty, instability, and terrorism—have taken to the streets in Tehran and numerous other cities across Iran. This is the second consecutive day of protests. The Iranian regime is attributing this to American backing.”]
Screenshot taken from Facebook post.
Fact or Fiction?
A reverse-image search of keyframes from the video led to news outlets reporting on the protests that took place in Iran in January of this year.
According to France 24, the nationwide protest was triggered by the country’s economic crisis, and Iran shut down the internet and telephone networks amid the unrest.Over 500 protests took place in 31 provinces, with around 10,600 protestors arrested, and at least 544 deaths reported. 544 and 10,600 arrests.
A frame from the video under investigation can be seen in a BBC report published in January of this year, visualised in a side-by-side comparison below.
Left: A frame from a January 2026 BBC report. Right: A frame from the video under investigation.
The France 24 news, also published in January 2026, includes a different frame from the video being shared in August, as visualised below.
Left: A frame from a January 2026 France 24 report. Right: A frame from the video under investigation.
Verified reporting on the January 2026 Iran protests that include the exact footage prove that the visuals show violent protests in Iran at the start of the year, not in August.
Virality
Soch Fact Check found eight Facebook accounts and two X accounts covering these protests. On Facebook, the most interaction was 118K views, 985 likes and 107 reshares.
The video nearing 3.9K views on one post.
Conclusion: Footage of protests in Iran dates back to January 2026.
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