Does a viral video show the Palestinian flag hanging from the Tower of Pisa in Italy during October 2026 protests? No, that's not true: The footage predated 2026 rallies and looting incidents by almost three years. The video started circulating on social media in mid-November 2023.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X by @theseed59788459 on Oct. 18, 2026. The caption read:
A 300-ft. Palestinian flag is unfurled from the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy, and the mainstream still says these are 'cost-of-living protests.'
This is what a screenshot from the video looked like on X at the time of writing:
(Image source: post by @theseed59788459 on X.)
In mid-October 2026, Italy witnessed (archived here) mass protests and unrest in multiple cities. However, the viral video did not document any of that.
The footage showed a 2023 event that was covered (archived here) by Italian news agency ANSA (archived here). Images (archived here) and videos (archived here) of it have been online since Nov. 17, 2023. Al Jazeera (archived here) published the same footage three days later, on Nov. 20, 2023.
