Protests in Cuba: Viral photo is not of the Havana Malecón, it is a protest in Egypt in 2011

Publications that show an image of a massive demonstration near a coast, assuring that it corresponds to a protest “on the boardwalk of Cuba”Have been shared more than 6,000 times on social media in less than 24 hours since the anti-government protests began on the island on July 11. However, the photo illustrates a mobilization in Alexandria on February 11, 2011, following the fall of the 30-year regime of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt.

“The boardwalk of Cuba at the moment #soscuba”reads one of the posts posted on Facebook, accompanied by a photo of an aerial view of a demonstration. The same image with a similar description has been shared thousands of times during anti-government demonstrations in Cuba by users on Facebook and Twitter.

Some political personalities in Chile also shared the image, placing it in Cuba.

At the bottom of the image you can see some Egyptian flags. A reverse search of the photo on Google with the keyword “Egypt” resulted in an article in the Orange County Register, a California paid newspaper, published on February 11, 2011, reviewing the Hosni Mubarak regime in Egypt.

The image of the article that matches the one published by users on networks is signed by the Globe Live Media news agency. The photograph is available on their website and its description indicates that it was taken on February 11, 2011.

Thousands of Egyptian anti-government protesters march in Alexandria, Egypt, on Friday, February 11, 2011. Mubarak has refused to resign or leave the country, but he did hand over his administrative powers to his Vice President Omar Suleiman on Thursday. However, he is still president and the one who ensures control over the reform process. This sparked massive protests from anti-Mubarak protesters “, specifies the caption for the image.

That day, more than a million people took to the streets to demand the resignation of the Egyptian president, in office since 1981, as they had been doing for weeks before.

Mobilizations against the Cuban government

The viral photo began to circulate on networks on July 11, 2021, coinciding with a wave of protests in Cuba. That day a series of unprecedented demonstrations erupted with shouts of “Liberty!” Y “Down with the dictatorship!”, coinciding with the worst economic crisis in 30 years in the country, aggravated by the coronavirus pandemic.

Every day, Cubans have to wait long hours in queues to get food and they also face a shortage of medicines, which has generated a strong unrest in society. Economic difficulties have also prompted the authorities to apply electricity cuts of several hours a day in large areas of the country.

President Miguel Díaz-Canel gave the revolutionaries “The order of combat”. There were clashes, especially in Havana, where the police used tear gas, fired their weapons into the air and used plastic tubes to hit the hundreds of protesters who took to the streets, AFP journalists confirmed. Government supporters also staged some counter-demonstrations in the capital.

For his part, the President of the United States, Joe Biden, on July 12, 2021, urged the Government of Cuba to “hear” to the protesters demanding an end to the “repression” and poverty.

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