Fact Check: Image Of British Union Jack Flags Crowding The Mall In London Is NOT Real -- Shows Paris's Arc De Triomphe, Not Admiralty Arch

Fact Check

  • by: Alan Duke
Fact Check: Image Of British Union Jack Flags Crowding The Mall In London Is NOT Real -- Shows Paris's Arc De Triomphe, Not Admiralty Arch AI Click Bait

Is an image of British Union Jack flags crowding the Mall in London during a popular uprising of patriots in late August, 2025, authentic? No, that's not true: The image shared widely across social platforms is an odd digital representation of the Mall, which runs a half mile from Buckingham Palace to Trafalgar Square. This image shows the Arc de Triomphe in Paris at the end, rather than London's Admiralty Arch. Many of the flags are warped, as are some of the humans holding them. There are no reports of such a massive demonstration in London in the weeks before this image appeared online.

The image appeared in a post (archived here) shared by the @iAnonPatriot account on X on August 31, 2025. The caption above the image read:

Rooting for the patriots over in the UK... Take back YOUR country.

This is what the post looked like at the time of writing:

Screenshot 2025-09-01 141746.png

(Source: screenshot of X.com by Lead Stories)

Another X post (archived here) used the fake image as a prediction of an even bigger turnout of protesters at a "Unite the Kingdom" rally on September 13:

13th September there will be 1 million people lining the streets of London supporting
@TRobinsonNewEra
and UNITE THE KINGDOM. We will make sure that we get all them eyes on $UTK this movement will not stop we will be supporting every step of the way. This is just the beginning.

🇬🇧 RULE BRITANNIA 🇬🇧

Screenshot 2025-09-01 150254.png

(Source: screenshot of X.com by Lead Stories)

The flaws in this digital creation are obvious. First, look in the top middle where the flags converge on a building.

Screenshot 2025-09-01 152511.png

(Source: screenshot of X.com by Lead Stories)

A Google reverse image search (archived here) concluded that is the Arc de Triomphe, which is in Paris, France.

Screenshot 2025-09-01 151607.png

Other signs an image is AI-generated were identified by X users commenting on the image. This post (archived here) was captioned:

Just a few of the red flags that say 'hey. I'm not a real photo'

Screenshot 2025-09-01 152923.png

(Source: screenshot of X.com by Lead Stories)

Another X post (archived here) shared what appears to be a realistic image of the Mall filled with real people, real flags, and correct arch

GztRj93WIAAgMOI.jpeg

(Source: screenshot of X.com by Lead Stories)

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  Alan Duke

Editor-in-Chief Alan Duke co-founded Lead Stories after ending a 26-year career with CNN, where he mainly covered entertainment, current affairs and politics. Duke closely covered domestic terrorism cases for CNN, including the Oklahoma City federal building bombing, the UNABOMBER and search for Southeast bomber Eric Robert Rudolph. CNN moved Duke to Los Angeles in 2009 to cover the entertainment beat. Duke also co-hosted a daily podcast with former HLN host Nancy Grace, "Crime Stories with Nancy Grace" and hosted the podcast series "Stan Lee's World: His Real Life Battle with Heroes & Villains." You'll also see Duke in many news documentaries, including on the Reelz channel, CNN and HLN.

Read more about or contact Alan Duke

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