Spanish protest photo shared as anti-Modi movement in India
A photo posted on Facebook claims that the people of India have again started an anti-Modi movement in the country to force Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to resign. However, Dismislab’s fact-check has found that the circulating photo is not from India but from a protest programme in Spain.
The photo was posted from a Facebook group on October 8. The post’s caption reads, “Again anti-Modi movement in India. This time the public will force Modi to resign.” (verbatim). As of the writing of this report, the post had been shared more than 150 times. It has received more than a thousand reactions. In the post’s comments, many people can be seen assuming the photo to be a scene of a movement in India. One user commented, “We want Modi’s resignation, InshaAllah”. Another user wrote, “The world also wants that the peace-loving people of India be freed from the misrule and incivility of the BJP, which came to power by illegitimate means.”
The photo shows a gathering of countless people on a road. On a portion resembling a white banner, it is written “PEDRO SÁNCHEZ A PRISIÓN.” In addition, multiple structures are visible around the location of the protest. Many of the people present can be seen holding up red and yellow flags.
The photo was also seen posted with the same claim from multiple Facebook profiles (1, 2) and a page.
In the course of the investigation, a reverse image search of the photo brought to Dismislab’s attention a video report published on September 3, 2026, by the Spanish media outlet El Mundo. The report’s headline, translated from Spanish into English reads, “Cibeles fills up in support of Ceuta. Thousands of people gather in the heart of Madrid during a day of demonstrations called in defense of the autonomous city. This is what one of the most crowded areas of the day looks like from the air.” An exact match was found between the circulating photo and the 9-second mark of the 11-second video report.
For further details, Dismislab searched with relevant keywords. Reports on the incident had been published by multiple news outlets and news agencies (1, 2, 3, 4).
According to a report by BBC News, on September 2, thousands of people protested against the government at Madrid City Square over the entry of thousands of migrants into the enclave of Ceuta, a territory under Spain. People took to the streets in support of Ceuta’s residents. Spain’s opposition parties have raised an allegation against Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of removing Ceuta’s residents, while the government claims that right-wing parties are using this crisis for political purposes.
In other words, the circulating photo is not from any anti-Modi movement in India but is a photo of a protest over the migrant crisis incident in Spain’s Ceuta.
Incidentally, in the wake of the controversy over the revision of India’s voter list, the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has launched a movement demanding the resignation of the country’s Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. In continuation of this, the party has announced a protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on the coming October 10.
