Viral image of French woman with ‘refugees welcome here’ sign has been edited

An image shared thousands of times online that appears to show a French woman who was filmed trying to stop looters at a Paris supermarket holding a “refugees welcome here” sign has been edited.

We traced the original image to a protest near the French embassy in Knightsbridge, London, in 2016.

Posts shared across X, Facebook and Instagram show a screenshot of a genuine video of a woman trying to stop looters at a Paris supermarket on the right alongside an old photo from a UK protest with her face edited onto it on the left.

The images have been shared with captions claiming “this woman has got her comeuppance” suggesting they think the protest image is genuine.

There have been mass protests across France since late September, led initially by students complaining about poor classroom and learning conditions. On 17 October, a national day of action backed by student groups, unions and the Yellow Vests movement led to a number of violent incidents, including looting.

We have fact checked other examples of old and AI-generated imagery circulating online with claims they show the recent protests.

Before sharing content like this that you come across, it’s important to consider whether it comes from a trustworthy and verifiable source. Our misinformation toolkit contains tips on how to do this.