Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation on Jan. 6 after nearly a decade in power. Following his announcement, a video went viral on social media appearing to show a crowd celebrating the news.
“Live reaction to Justin Trudeau resigning,” a post with millions of views says.
But this video doesn’t show the crowd reacting to Trudeau’s resignation. Different variations of the video have existed online since the original was posted on June 16, 2016 by an English radio station.
Here’s what we can VERIFY about the origins of this video meme.
THE SOURCES
- Original video from June 16, 2016 published by Heart News West Country, a Bristol, England-based radio station and then-reporter Charlotte Gay
- InVid and RevEye, video and photo forensics tools
- Other versions of the video meme posted online since 2018
- 2020 article from the Bristol Post
WHAT WE FOUND
The original June 16, 2016 video shows soccer fans at a venue inside Ashton Gate Stadium in Bristol, England, cheering as England scores the winning goal against Wales in the Euro 2016 match. Over the years, the clip has been repeatedly manipulated and shared online to depict the crowd reacting to various unrelated events, the latest being news reports of Justin Trudeau’s resignation.
The video’s original caption reads, “Fans at Ashton Gate Stadium, Bristol, celebrate England winner against Wales at Euro 2016.”
The video was taken by Charlotte Gay, who at the time was working for local radio station Heart News West Country, a Heart FM station. She told the Bristol Post the moment was filmed from the venue’s top balcony. She posted a shortened version of the viral video on X, formerly known as Twitter.
#eng fans goes mental at @ashtongatestad asEngland secure the win against #Wal#ENGvWAL#heartnewspic.twitter.com/S0jXxzJIDR
— Charlotte Gay (@CharlotteGay_) June 16, 2016
In 2018, a modified version of the video appeared on YouTube, but the television screen and the phone screens of some fans were replaced by a green square to create a green screen-like effect to enable others to more easily manipulate the video with alternate footage. The green screen version was reposted by others in 2020 and 2022, making an easily manipulated version of the clip readily available.
This video has been shared numerous times with various other videos edited into the screens, but in all versions, the bar, crowd and background posters remain the same.
Here are some notable versions of the manipulated clip:
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In May 2024, the Lincoln Project, a political action committee (PAC) that has opposed Donald Trump shared the edited video to appear as though the crowd was reacting to Trump being found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. The same group also shared the video in August 2023, this time portraying the crowd as reacting to Trump’s mugshot release.
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In 2021, the video was edited to appear as though people were cheering when President Joe Biden fell down the stairs leading to Air Force One.
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In June 2019, Barstool Sports shared a manipulated version of the video to make it seem like a Toronto bar crowd was reacting to Kevin Durant’s injury while playing for the Golden State Warriors. At the time, Durant was playing the Toronto Raptors when he suffered the playoff-ending injury.
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Also in 2019, an edited version of the video circulated online showing the crowd reacting to an episode of Game of Thrones.
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In 2018, a viral clip made it appear as though the crowd was cheering during a scene from Star Wars.
The video has transcended social media as well. The video meme appeared in an episode of Fox’s animated series Family Guy. It showed the crowd cheering on the character Lois.
