Fact-Check: Attack by PKK Group on Paris Airport Shared With False Communal Spin
Video shows PKK supporters attacking airport staff in front of Turkish Airlines Quantor.
Fact-Check: This attack took place by the PKK on 28 March.
(Source: Altered by The Quint)
A video showing massive chaos with people hitting one another is being shared as Muslims attacking people at 'French airport' after being deported for living illegally in France.
An archive of the post can be found here.
This post recorded 128.7K views at the time of writing this story.
(Archives of similar claims can be found here, here and here.)
We received a query about this on our WhatsApp tipline, as well.
Is this true?: This claim is false.
The video shows the Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK attacking civilians and airport staff in opposition to the extradition of PKK member Firaz Korkmaz from France to Turkey.
How did we find out?: We undertook a relevant keyword search and came across two pieces by Anadolu Agency and TRT World.
Both reports carried similar visuals as the viral video.
Here is a comparison between the two.
Anadolu Agency's story was headlined, "PKK supporters injure 3 people at France's Charles de Gaulle Airport." It was published on 28 March.
They reported that twenty supporters of the PKK attacked the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris in opposition to the 'extradition' of their member Firaz Korkmaz from France to Turkey.
The PKK group attacked the National Repatrition Unit team that took Korkmaz.
About three were injured in the attack.
Similarly, TRT World reported along similar lines on 28 March.
Who is PKK?: According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Turkey's website, this organisation is registered as a terrorist group. The European Union also deemed PKK as a terrorist group in 2004.
The ideology of the group is based on a combination of revolutionary Marxism-Leninism and separatist ethno-nationalism.
The PKK aims to suppress the diversity within Turkey, hinder the participation and integration of Turkish citizens of Kurdish descent, and instil fear among the people in the region.
Conclusion: Clearly, the claim is false and is being shared with a false communal spin.
(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9540511818 , or e-mail it to us at webqoof@thequint.com and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)