The post is old (from 2021) but has returned to social networks. The author shares an image with an alleged news item where it is claimed that several anti-vaccine protesters in Germany kissed in public to protest anti-Covid-19 measures. “Really madness, completely devastated, is what is hidden behind the phrase in small print”, guarantees the author. It is, however, a fake post.

The alleged news in question was published by the German newspaper Deutsche Welle. The subtitle reads as follows: “Deputies analyze creating a law to classify kisses in public spaces as a crime.” However, it is not possible to get to the correct link in the article to read the full text. Only an image is provided, nothing more.

However, the German news agency itself has come to deny the authorship of the news. The image relates to a Chilean student protest in the summer of 2011 — students participated in the “World Kissing Marathon” demonstration, advocating for a comprehensive reform of the country’s educational system.

The photograph was, therefore, captured in Chile more than a decade ago, as can be seen in the fact-check carried out by DW, and as can be verified using image identification tools such as Google Images. The same image can be found at the European PressPhoto agency, for example.

This demonstration in the South American country was recorded in 2011 by several newspapers, including the New York Times, for example. Therefore, it has nothing to do with the protests in Germany or the current period of the Covid-19 pandemic.

conclusion

It is not true that a German newspaper published a story with a recent demonstration of anti-vaccine citizens kissing in a public space in Germany. The photograph belongs to a protest in Chile in 2011 that has nothing to do with the pandemic or Covid-19. The original publication has already been denied by the newspaper used by the author.

Thus, according to the Observer classification, this content is:

WRONG

In the Facebook rating system, this content is:

FAKE: The main content claims are factually inaccurate. In general, this option matches “false” or “mostly false” ratings on fact-checking websites.

NOTE: This content was curated by The Observer as part of a fact-checking partnership with Facebook.