Fact-check: Was this EU flag really torn down after far-right’s election win?

A misleading video has falsely claimed that Italian protesters have replaced EU flags on buildings after Sunday’s snap general election. 

The outdated footage suggests that right-wing supporters tore down European Union memorabilia to celebrate the election result. 

Euronews has fact-checked the claims.

In the footage, a man climbs onto an administrative building in Rome and replaces the EU flag with the Italian tricolour flag, while a crowd of protesters chant “Italy, nation, revolution”.

The video was viewed thousands of times online and was shared by known conspiracist channels in both Italy and neighbouring France.

However, the video is not recent and was first shared online in December 2013, nearly a decade ago.

The clip actually shows a demonstration by the neofascist CasaPound movement to protest against the EU’s economic policies and demand more national sovereignty in Italy.

The man who actually replaced the EU flag in this video — published on YouTube by CasaPound — was sentenced to three months imprisonment and given a €100 fine.

There is no evidence of widespread anti-EU protests in Italy following Sunday’s general election.

The victory for Giorgia Meloni has been a cause for celebration for Europe’s right-wing, while Brussels has said that it would be ready to work with democratic governments.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had also warned that the bloc has tools at its disposal if Italy’s new government develops a eurosceptic stance on European Union affairs and values.