Old clip of bikers does not show group supporting LA immigration raids
"On the way to California to back Ice Agents... and deport the criminals illegals. Lets go MAGA," text over footage of a large crowd of motorcycle riders reads in a TikTok video published June 10, 2025.
The same video received hundreds more interactions on X.
Image
A screenshot of a TikTok post taken June 16, 2025
Protests opposing ICE raids and deportation efforts have been ongoing since June 6 in Los Angeles. Trump has pounced on sporadic violent incidents at the rallies to deploy 4,000 National Guards and 700 Marines to the city,
o directed federal to ramp up deportation efforts in Democratic-led cities on June 15, doubling down on the politicized anti-immigration drive.
FP debunked several out-of-context images falsely linked to the situation as the protests have attracted foreign adversaries of the United States to amplify disinformation.
Similarly, the video shared does not show bikers heading to California. Instead, it depicts a charity event in Pennsylvania in November 2022, which the non-profit group that organized the ride confirmed in an email.
A keyword search for the handle visible in the bottom right corner of the video found the corresponding TikTok account (archived here), where AFP retrieved the exact clip posted multiple times over the course of several years with different text overlays.
The first misrepresented iteration of the clip appeared on the account on November 6, 2022 with the text, "Republicans waiting for the polls to open Nov 8th" in reference to the 2022 US midterm elections. The same clip was also misleadingly framed in other claims AFP debunked in 2024.
Several visual elements in the video appeared to point to a gathering happening in the state of Pennsylvania, including blue and yellow license plates on the bikes, the logo of a Harley-Davidson store in Harrisburg embroidered on one of the bikers' jacket and a merchandise tent for a "biker dog" under the name of "Sidecar dog Riley."
A keyword search on Google yielded results for a merchandise website (archived here), as well as social media accounts, under the same name in Northampton, Pennsylvania.
A search on the dog's Facebook page found that the team behind "Sidecar dog Riley" (archived here) sold merchandise at Tucker's toy charity run and raffle on November 5, 2022 in Northampton organized by the non-profit Lehigh Valley Community Benefit (LVCB) a day before the clip first appeared on TikTok.
LVCB's founder and president confirmed to AFP on June 17, 2025 in an email that the footage depicted "Tucker's Toy Run charity ride" in 2022.
As highlighted below, identical tent displays as the one seen in the TikTok
Image
A screenshot of a TikTok post taken June 16, 2025 with elements highlighted by AFP
Image
A screenshot of a Facebook post taken June 17, 2025 with elements highlighted by AFP
Motorcycle gang from 2022
A clip of another motorcade widely circulated on X on June 13, 2025, claiming to show "bikers on their way to California."
Image
A screenshot of an X post taken June 17, 2025
A Google reverse image search, again, revealed that the clip was taken out of its original context.
AFP retrieved the clip, first posted on TikTok on July 28, 2022 (archived here).
In the comments, several users mentioned Montebello in Los Angeles County as the location for the video.
"Shout out to Arry's Burgers!!" a commenter wrote at the time. A Google Maps search for the restaurant confirmed that the footage showed the corner of Whittier Boulevard and Taylor Avenue in Montebello (archived here).
AFP also identified the logo on the back of the bikers' vests as "Mongols California," in reference to a bikers club native to Montebello.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fashion Network
2 hours ago
- Fashion Network
Made in Vietnam: Hanoi cracks down on fake goods as US tariffs loom
Home › News › Industry Download Print Since the United States accused Vietnam of being a hub for counterfeit goods, Tran Le Chi has found it increasingly hard to track down her favourite fake Chanel T-shirts, Gucci sunglasses and Louis Vuitton handbags. AFP As Vietnam's government tries to head off President Donald Trump's threatened 46 percent tariff, it has launched a crackdown on fake products -- in part to show responsiveness to US concerns. Now there are streets filled with shuttered shops in Hanoi and rows of closed stalls at Saigon Square shopping mall, a major clothing market in Ho Chi Minh City -- the kind of places Chi used to go to buy her latest gear. "The clothes help me look trendy," Chi told AFP. "Why would I care if they are fake or not?"Chi -- a betting agent for an illegal game known as lo-de, where punters predict the last two lotto numbers of the standard daily draw -- said she had never paid more than $40 per "designer" item. "Only the super-rich people can afford the real ones," she added. "They're not for people like us." Communist-run Vietnam is a manufacturing powerhouse that produces clothing and footwear for international brands, with the United States its number-one export market in the first five months of it also has a thriving market for counterfeit a report published by the US Trade Representative in January, Saigon Square shopping mall was flagged as a major market for the sale of fake luxury items including handbags, wallets, jewellery and report noted government efforts to stamp out the trade, but said "low penalties have had little deterrent effect" and "counterfeit products remain rampant". Shop owner Hoa, a pseudonym to protect her identity, said almost all of the fake Nike, Lacoste and North Face products she sells in her shop in Hanoi's old quarter are from China -- but tagged with a "Made in Vietnam" label to make them seem authentic. She insists that all her customers know what they're getting."My clients are those who cannot afford authentic products," Hoa said. "I've never cheated anyone."Hanoi and Washington are in the thick of trade talks, with Vietnam doing everything it can to avoid the crushing 46 percent tariff that could come into force in early trade ministry ordered authorities in April to tighten control over the origin of goods after the Trump administration accused the country of facilitating Chinese exports to the United States and allowing Beijing to get around public security ministry also said there would be a three-month-long crackdown -- until mid-August -- on counterfeit Thanh Nam, deputy head of the agency for domestic market surveillance and development, said last week that in the first five months of the year, more than 7,000 cases of counterfeit products worth more than $8 million had been discovered. He added that 1,000 fake Rolex watches had been seized from Saigon Square shopping mall. Mounds of vitamins, cosmetics and sweets -- seemingly also counterfeits -- have appeared at waste grounds outside cities including Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Danang, while fake electronics including Marshall speakers and smartwatches have been confiscated. Police have not specified the origin of the goods, but Vietnam was Southeast Asia's biggest buyer of Chinese products in 2024, with a bill of $161.9 billion. Nguyen Khac Giang, visiting fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, said that although there were other aims of the drive, including improving Vietnam's business environment and formalising the retail sector, "the campaign plays a role in Vietnam's strategy to appease the US"."The effort partly reflects Vietnam's intent to show responsiveness to US concerns," he for Hoa, her livelihood is on the line. Her shop has been closed for almost two weeks and she has no idea how to restart the business. "I have sold these sorts of clothes for a decade and experienced no problem at all. Now they crack down on us, it's hard to figure out how I continue," she said. Copyright © 2025 AFP. All rights reserved. All information displayed in this section (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the contents of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presses. Fashion Jobs : CHANEL GUCCI LOUIS VUITTON
France 24
4 hours ago
- France 24
New US visa rules require foreign students to unlock social media accounts
The US State Department said Wednesday it is restarting the suspended process for foreigners applying for student visas but all applicants will now be required to unlock their social media accounts for government review. The department said consular officers will be on the lookout for posts and messages that could be deemed hostile to the United States, its government, culture, institutions or founding principles. In a notice made public Wednesday, the department said it had rescinded its May suspension of student visa processing but said new applicants who refuse to set their social media accounts to 'public' and allow them to be reviewed may be rejected. It said a refusal to do so could be a sign they are trying to evade the requirement or hide their online activity. The Trump administration last month temporarily halted the scheduling of new visa interviews for foreign students hoping to study in the US while preparing to expand the screening of their activity on social media, officials said. Thought police? US scrutinizes foreign student visas 44:22 Students around the world have been waiting anxiously for US consulates to reopen appointments for visa interviews, as the window left to book their travel and make housing arrangements narrows ahead of the start of the school year. On Wednesday afternoon, a 27-year-old Ph.D. student in Toronto was able to secure an appointment for a visa interview next week. The student, a Chinese national, hopes to travel to the US for a research intern position that would start in late July. 'I'm really relieved,' said the student, who spoke on condition of being identified only by his surname, Chen, because he was concerned about being targeted. 'I've been refreshing the website couple of times every day.' Students from China, India, Mexico and the Philippines have posted on social media sites that they have been monitoring visa booking websites and closely watching press briefings of the State Department to get any indication of when appointment bookings might resume. 'Under new guidance, consular officers will conduct a comprehensive and thorough vetting of all student and exchange visitor applicants,' the department said in a statement. 'To facilitate this vetting' applicants 'will be asked to adjust the privacy settings on all their social media profiles to 'public,'' it said. 'The enhanced social media vetting will ensure we are properly screening every single person attempting to visit our country.' 02:01 In internal guidance sent to consular officers, the department said they should be looking for 'any indications of hostility toward the citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles of the United States.' International students in the US have been facing increased scrutiny on several fronts. In the spring, the Trump administration revoked permission to study in the US for thousands of students, including some involved only in traffic offenses, before abruptly reversing course. The government also expanded the grounds on which foreign students can have their legal status terminated. As part of a pressure campaign targeting Harvard University, the Trump administration has moved to block foreign students from attending the Ivy League school, which counts on international students for tuition dollars and a quarter of its enrollment. Trump has said Harvard should cap its foreign enrollment at 15%. The Trump administration also has called for 36 countries to commit to improving vetting of travelers or face a ban on their citizens visiting the United States. A weekend diplomatic cable sent by the State Department says the countries have 60 days to address US concerns or risk being added to a travel ban that now includes 12 nations.
France 24
6 hours ago
- France 24
'Argentina with Cristina': Thousands rally for convicted ex-president
In a recorded speech played for supporters amassed on Buenos Aires's Plaza de Mayo square, Kirchner said: "We will be back with more wisdom, more unity, more strength." Backers of the polarizing leftist massed on the square and spilled into surrounding streets for a demonstration called by the 72-year-old's Justicialist Party. Under the slogan "Argentina with Cristina," protesters sang and beat drums, waving national flags and banners with messages such as "The motherland is not for sale." "We came because it's an attack on democracy to outlaw someone like Cristina who the people want to vote for," Rocio Gavino, a 29-year-old public employee, told AFP. Kirchner supporters had been holding a vigil outside her home in Buenos Aires since the Supreme Court last week upheld her conviction and sentence for "fraudulent administration" while president, along with a lifelong ban on her holding public office. On Tuesday, a court ruled she could serve her sentence at home under electronic surveillance. She will be allowed limited visits, principally from family members, lawyers and doctors. In 2022, Kirchner's conviction sparked demonstrations in several cities, some of which ended in clashes with police. 'Justice. End.' Kirchner rose to prominence as one half of a political power couple with her late husband Nestor Kirchner, who preceded her as president. Both are associated with the center-left Peronist movement founded by post-war president Juan Peron. After two terms at the helm herself between 2007 and 2015, Kirchner served as vice president from 2019 to 2023 in the last center-left administration before the presidency of libertarian Javier Milei, whose austerity policies she has criticized. Milei had welcomed the court's dismissal of her appeal, writing on X: "Justice. End." Kirchner and her backers claim the case was a plot to end her career and unravel her legacy of protectionist economics and social programs. "We are here because the national government, together with the judiciary, made the decision to ban Cristina from elections," protester Federico Mochi, a Peronist youth leader, told AFP. Lara Goyburu, a political scientist from the University of Buenos Aires, told AFP that Wednesday's protest "demonstrates that the broader Peronist movement still retains some capacity for street mobilization" in a time of deep political polarization. 'Harassment' In preparation for the protests, police set up checkpoints on major roads to the capital, searching cars and buses -- much to the annoyance of citizens. Under a special protocol adopted Tuesday, they also erected barriers at the main train station and performed identity checks on anyone carrying pro-Kirchner placards or other political paraphernalia. The protocol allows police to detain any citizen without an ID document for up to 10 hours without a court order. "It's harassment that makes no sense," Daniel Catalano, a leader of the state workers' union, told Radio El Destape. Correpi, an NGO fighting police repression, said the measures amounted to the "destruction of the country's democratic freedoms." Presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni defended the operation. © 2025 AFP
