Footage of man striking women at ‘London’ station is actually from Barcelona last year

Recent Facebook posts have claimed that a video of a man striking several women at a station occurred in London—but the incident actually occurred on a Barcelona metro platform in 2024.

The footage shows a man walking along a metro platform and striking multiple women.

Captions on posts (warning: contains violent imagery) sharing the footage link the incident to London.

A reverse image search of the footage shows 2024 news reports in several outlets saying the incident took place at Barcelona’s Camp de l'Arpa metro station.

According to a statement issued on 10 February 2024 by local police, a man was arrested for allegedly assaulting several women at the station on the previous day. The force said its Central Hate Crimes Unit was investigating.

There are also further clues in the footage, alongside contemporary news reports and police statements, that this did not occur in London.

This includes the distinctive blue signage seen on the station platform, which resembles that used at Camp de l'Arpa station.

The posts include a quote attributed to Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan—mispelled as “Kahn”—that “diversity is London’s strength”. He has on several occasions stated that “London’s diversity is our greatest strength”, or variations to that effect.

We often see miscaptioned footage being shared widely on social media. Before reposting something you see, first consider whether it comes from a reliable and trustworthy source. Our toolkit and guide on how to check misleading videos can help you do this.