A post shared in early February by a far-right account shows a crowd of Polish protesters and claims that there were 420,000 marching to defend the country's Christian identity. In reality, these are old images, dating from 2017, and the figures are greatly overestimated.
Published on: 02/12/2026 - 3:34 p.m.
Would there have been 420,000 Poles marching in Warsaw to defend the country's Christian identity and oppose "Islamization"? This is what several far-right accounts on Facebook and In support, a viral video showing a crowd waving Polish flags in a cloud of red smoke and singing the Polish anthem.
These images appear to be old and the figures given are largely overestimated.
A video dated 2017
A reverse image search (see our guide here) allows you to find this same video published on X in November 2017 by the Casual Ultra Official account. In the description of the original post, we can read: “Independence march in Warsaw today”. It is indeed the same sequence: same duration (32 seconds), same camera movements and, in the background, the same "LG OLED TV" advertising panel visible on the roof of a building.
The Observateurs editorial team was unable to find this video in the media. However, it is established that these images date from at least 2017. Similar visuals appear on the New York Times website, in an article devoted to the demonstrations of November 11, 2017, Polish Independence Day. We can clearly see Polish flags and red smoke bombs, as in the sequence relayed on social networks.
Vastly exaggerated figures
By searching with the keywords “Independence Day Poland November 11 2017”, we find an article from the Guardian dedicated to the event. The British daily explains that this march, organized every November 11 to commemorate the independence of Poland, has become in recent years one of the largest gatherings of far-right activists in Europe.
During the mentioned edition, xenophobic slogans were chanted - “Pure Poland, white Poland!” or “Refugees, go!” - and banners displayed messages such as "White Europe of fraternal nations".
However, the figures put forward on social networks do not correspond to official estimates: the Polish authorities reported around 60,000 participants that day, a far cry from the 420,000 demonstrators claimed online.
Interviewed by the Guardian, Nick Lowles, of the British counter-extremism group Hope Not Hate, clarified that "not all the marchers are far-right activists or fascists", while emphasizing that "the movement is undeniably growing and attracting far-right groups from all over the world".
This is not the first time that this video has resurfaced being presented as recent. Already in the summer of 2025, it had been shared by another far-right account and had generated more than 3 million views.
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