Photo from 2025 Gaza protest in Amsterdam falsely linked to Malema’s court appearance in S.Africa
Thousands of people marched to a South African court in January 2026 to support Julius Malema, leader of the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party. An image showing a sea of people dressed in red – the EFF’s party colors – circulated online, accompanied by a claim that it showed the huge crowd outside the courthouse. But this is false; The image shows a massive demonstration organized in Amsterdam against the Israeli war on Gaza in October 2025.
“No politician is famous in this country than Julius Malema. Even Jacob Zuma can’t draw this crowd. East London is red in support of Moshabi. (sic)“, we read in an X post published on January 23, 2026.
Zuma is a former president of South Africa, while East London is a city in the country.
The post includes a photograph of a large crowd dressed in red – the same color worn by supporters of Malema’s EFF party.
Screenshot of the fake X post, taken on January 28, 2026
Similar claims featuring the image circulated on Facebook and Instagram.
Malema appeared in the East London Magistrate’s Court in the Eastern Cape on 23 January 2026 for a pre-sentencing hearing following his conviction in October 2025 on weapons charges relating to a 2018 rally (archived here and here).
Thousands of EFF supporters turned out in town for the hearing (archived here).
The proceedings were delayed because the reserved courtroom was too small. Sentencing was postponed until April 15, 2026, when Malema faces up to 15 years in prison.
However, the image linked to his supporters has nothing to do with his appearance in court.
Dutch demo
A reverse image search found similar articles and images from October 5, 2025, when hundreds of thousands of protesters marched in Amsterdam to demand a tougher stance from their government regarding Israel’s war in Gaza (archived here).
One of the search results included a link to an Al Jazeera report covering the protest.
A comparison of the image contained in the fake messages and images from Al Jazeera confirms that they show the same event.
Matching features include trees, buildings, and a video production crane.
A comparison between the image in the fake posts (left) and a screenshot of Al Jazeera’s footage of the Amsterdam protest
Protesters wore red to signify their support for a symbolic “red line” opposing Israel’s siege of Gaza.
Organizers reportedly estimated that around 250,000 people joined the protest, which we geolocated to Amsterdam’s Museum Square.
A large building at the back of the crowd – visible in the Al Jazeera footage but cut off from the image falsely linked to the EFF – is Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, a concert hall.
Screenshots comparing the Al Jazeera video (left) to the Google Map Street View of Amsterdam Square
Although a large crowd attended Malema’s hearing, footage released by the EFF that day shows a markedly different setting, filmed on Buffalo Street in east London, where the party had set up a stage (archived here).
