Rumor – 50,000 Muslims marched in Melbourne, Australia, with the slogan ‘we are waiting for orders’.
Analysis
A video circulating on social media and messaging apps has attracted attention by supposedly showing 50,000 Muslims marching through the streets of Melbourne, Australia, chanting words such as “we are waiting for orders”.
The recording is shared with captions suggesting a terrorist threat and an organized mobilization of Muslim immigrants ready to attack. Posts also link the scene to the idea that similar marches were happening in European cities such as Barcelona, London, and Berlin, reinforcing a narrative of a “Muslim invasion” in the West. Read:
+50,000 Muslims march in Melbourne, Australia, with the slogan “We are ready, waiting for orders.” And this did not please the local population at all. The same is happening in Spain, Portugal, Barcelona. The same is happening in England, Germany, and other countries in Europe.
Fact-check
This type of rumor mixes numerical exaggeration, context falsification, and fear-mongering to fuel xenophobia and Islamophobia. To understand whether the information is true, we need to answer three main questions: 1) Did 50,000 Muslims march in Melbourne with the slogan “we are waiting for orders”? 2) What is the context of the video? 3) Are there similar fake news stories circulating about supposed Muslim marches in other countries?
Did 50,000 Muslims march in Melbourne with the slogan “we are waiting for orders”?
No. The video does not show a political or terrorist act with 50,000 people. According to AFP Fact Check, it is actually the annual Ashura procession in Melbourne, a religious event of the Shiite community that commemorates the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.
The estimated attendance ranged between 15,000 and 20,000 people, most of them Australian citizens. The attributed slogan, “we are waiting for orders,” is a fabricated translation and does not appear in the Arabic chants.
What is the context of the video attributed to 50,000 Muslims marching in Melbourne?
As explained, the video was recorded during the Ashura celebration, an important date in the Shiite calendar. In these processions, participants wear black clothing and chant religious verses in Arabic. In other words, the recording was taken out of context and manipulated to give it a threatening connotation.
Are there similar fake news stories?
Yes. This type of rumor is common and has been debunked multiple times. Boatos.org has already debunked a story about Muslims demanding the removal of pork from school menus in Italy, another about supposed Muslims linked to ISIS in Trinidad, and even the hoax that Muslims had been invited to leave Australia.
Conclusion
It is false that 50,000 Muslims marched in Melbourne with the slogan “we are waiting for orders.” The viral video actually shows the Ashura religious procession, with around 15,000 to 20,000 participants, most of them Australian citizens. The attributed phrase is an invented translation, and the narrative is part of a pattern of fake news that distorts religious manifestations to fuel Islamophobic discourse.
Fake news ❌
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