What was claimed
A video shows Muslim immigrants protesting against a Christmas fair in Germany.
Our verdict
False. The video was filmed in October 2024 and was not a protest against a Christmas event.
AAP FACTCHECK - A video purportedly showing Muslim migrants protesting against Christmas festivities in Germany actually shows an unrelated protest in 2024.
The false claim is the latest example of misinformation about European Christmas markets and events being under threat from immigrants in the lead-up to the festive season.
A November 18 Facebook post from an Australian user includes a video of a crowd holding signs and banners as they participate in a call-and-response chant.
"Thousands of Muslim immigrants have arrived to the Christmas festivity fair in Germany to protest against the tradition, that goes against their beliefs and Islam," text on the video reads.
The post's caption adds: "Muslims surround a Christmas Market in Germany & aggressively chant 'There is no God but Allah & Muhammad is his messenger'".
A reverse image search shows the clip was originally posted online in October 2024. It features in social media posts and news reports about a protest in the German city of Hamburg.
It took place along the Steindamm, a major street in the city, according to a report in Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung, and AAP FactCheck geolocated the location to the corner of Steindamm and Kruezweg.
The Christmas fair or market located closest to the demonstration, Winter Pride, didn't begin until November 15 in 2024.
The October 12 demonstration was organised by a group called Muslim Interaktiv and its leader Joe Adade Boateng, who also goes by Raheem Boateng, according to newspaper Hamburger Morgenpost.
The rally was advertised as "Stop the genocide against our Uyghur brothers and sisters in East Turkistan", but in his speech Mr Boateng also criticised Israeli attacks in Gaza and Lebanon, according to a report in Focus magazine.
Muslim Interaktiv is associated with Islamic organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir, which has been banned in Germany since 2003.
In November 2025 the federal Ministry of the Interior also banned Muslim Interaktiv, saying its activities are "directed against the constitutional order".
At previous protests, attendees have held signs that read "Caliphate is the solution", Deutsche Welle reported.
Christmas markets in Germany have been the subject of recent misinformation.
Social media posts have falsely claimed hundreds of markets have been cancelled due to fears of terrorist attacks, while others have shared fake images created using artificial intelligence.
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