A post by Radio Europe<\/a>, a viral account on X that poses as a supporter of the \u201cMake Europe Great Again\u201d movement, falsely claimed on Sunday that the mass rallies were a patriotic uprising calling for the resignation of Greece\u2019s globalist government and linking it to immigration. The post \u2013 which included a video of the Tempe demonstrations along with the claim that more than 500 illegal migrants arrive in Greece by boat every day \u2013 has already garnered more than 1 million impressions on X.<\/p>\nThough it has since been fact-checked by the platform\u2019s community notes feature, it has already been shared by over 7,000 profiles on X. Some of these are Greek accounts disputing the blatant misinformation, while others are accounts with a history of spreading either Kremlin talking points or anti-immigration rhetoric, who instead amplify or double down on the false claims.<\/p>\n
A French-language account called Grand \u00c9veil, which describes itself as a freethinker telling the truth about conspiracies, also posted a video of the Athens rally, falsely suggesting that it was a Greek protest against Europe and asking its followers \u201cWhat is France waiting for? The misleading post has already garnered over 70,000 views and 2,250 reposts, while a significant number of the accounts re-sharing it and calling for a French protest against Europe were created in recent weeks, suggesting a possible attempt at a targeted, artificially amplified disinformation campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe media will not show you this. THE RESURGENCE OF SOVEREIGN NATIONS,\u201d claimed another X account called Kriswild_Kris, falsely claiming that the Greek protests were \u201ca rally against Europe\u2019s betrayal\u201d to tens of thousands of X users who saw the post. The account has also posted over 50 additional tweets in the last 24 hours alone, most of which are anti-Ukrainian and anti-European in nature, and very often misleading or outright false.<\/p>\n
The false social media posts make no mention of the real reasons for the demonstration, and ignore the fact that one of the demands of the protesters was for greater harmonization with European standards on railway safety and accountability, and for a more modern, European-style railway system.<\/p>\n
They have already been retweeted by dozens of accounts in several European languages and on various social media platforms, reaching millions of users across the continent and beyond.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just had a fight with another user who shared a false post on threads claiming that the Greek protests over the Tempe train accident were actually an anti-EU rally,\u201d Italian novelist and designer Talos Erika Vernizzi Mazonaki told Kathimerini English Edition, adding that countless accounts have shared similar false posts in the Italian social media ecosystem.<\/p>\n
Antonis Kalogeropoulos, associate professor of political communication at the Free University of Brussels, told Kathimerini English Edition that these posts highlight how much of the misinformation we encounter today \u2013 whether online or through traditional media \u2013 is often strategically spread and distributed.<\/p>\n
\u201cCitizens are more resilient to misinformation in media environments with strong public media and trusted media organizations, while polarized and highly disrupted media landscapes create fertile ground for both exposure to and belief in misinformation,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Leo Salvi-Sifnaios, an Athens resident who attended Friday\u2019s rally in Syntagma Square, said he was appalled by the blatant misrepresentation of these viral posts, which had nothing to do with the true nature of the mass demonstration.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was there, like most Greeks, to protest the lack of justice for the Tempe train crash and to demand a modernized railway system that meets EU standards,\u201d he said. \u201cWe were there to remember the 57 souls who lost their lives after years of government neglect \u2013 plain and simple.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
![\"Disinformation](\"https:\/\/www.ekathimerini.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/intime-tempe-protest-aerial-320x200.jpg?v=1740771910\")