Did the so-called "Freedom Convoy" of Canadian truckers who were primarily protesting COVID-19 vaccine mandates make it into the Guinness World Records book for "longest convoy?" No, that's not true: A spokesperson for Guinness World Records told Lead Stories that the convoy was not an official attempt to break such a record.
The claim appeared in an Instagram post on January 25, 2022, by the account @americantruckdrivers. The post featured a graphic that read:
10,000 Truckers expected to be headed to Canada. Those not allowed inside will sit at the boarder. States involved are as follows: Kentucky, Tennessee, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. with Lisa Akins. BTW the convoy in Canada has made the Guinness book of world records for the longest convoy.
This fact-check will focus on the claim that the convoy "made the Guinness book of world records," which is published by Guinness World Records. The organization determines and documents world record holders and publishes those records in its annual publication.
This is how the post looked on Instagram on January 31, 2022:
(Source: Instagram screenshot taken on Mon Jan 31 19:03:17 2022 UTC)
The "Freedom Convoy," also known as the "Convoy For Freedom," was seemingly organized by several people who oppose mandates in Canada and the U.S. that require truckers crossing the U.S.-Canada border to comply with COVID-19 vaccination or testing rules. The convoy began on January 22, 2022. Several of the vehicles made their way to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada's capital, on January 29, 2022. Along the way, the convoy gathered more trucks and personal vehicles. The protests in Ottawa also involved people on foot.
There is no mention of the convoy (see "Freedom Convoy" and "Convoy For Freedom") on the Guinness World Records website; also, there is no record titled "Longest convoy." However, there is a record for "Largest parade of trucks," which at the time of writing was held by the Tahya Misr Fund in Egypt. It broke the record on November 20, 2020, with 480 trucks. In an email to Lead Stories on January 31, 2022, Amanda Marcus, senior public relations manager for Guinness World Records North America, Inc., said of the "Freedom Convoy":
We can confirm the event listed in your inquiry is not an official Guinness World Records title attempt.
Although some event organizers and social media accounts claimed that the convoy would consist of more than 50,000 trucks, reports from journalists on the ground like David Akin of Global News placed the number of trucks in the convoy at closer to two or three digits.
The Canadian Trucking Alliance has opposed the convoy. Lead Stories reached out to the American Trucking Associations to determine how involved U.S. truckers were. We also contacted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for more information about how many trucks or vehicles participated in the convoy in total. We will update this story with any relevant responses.
Other Lead Stories fact checks related to Guinness World Records can be found here, here and here.
