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Following the Islamist terrorist attack at Berlin Pride, rumors, false claims and misleading videos have been spreading on social media. DW Fact check examines some of the most widely shared claims.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HsU8 Advertisement In the aftermath of Saturday's attack at Berlin's Christopher Street Day, which is how the city's LGBTQ+ Pride celebrations are known , more and more details have emerged about the alleged perpetrator and the attack itself.
But as it is often the case in the aftermath of such events, verified information can be hard to come by, while rumors and false claims spread rapidly on social media.
DW Fact check takes a look at several of such viral posts.
Claim: A video shared on TikTok shows a crowd of people fleeing from something happening off screen. Text overlaid on the video in the style of a location tag suggests that it shows Christopher Street Day (CSD) celebrations in Berlin. The video is circulating on various platforms and in multiple languages.
The video does not show the attack on Berlin's Pride event that German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has classified as an "Islamist terrorist attack."
A reverse image search leads to an older video on YouTube that was published on July 13, 2026, well before the Berlin Pride celebrations.
The footage actually shows a shooting at a salsa festival in Toronto, Canada, on July 11. At least two people reportedly exchanged gunfire during the Salsa on St. Clair festival.
According to statements by Canadian police, two people were killed. At least five others were injured. So far, Canadian police have not released any information about the motive behind the shooting.
The video has no connection to the attack in Berlin.
Claim: Shaky nighttime footage shows a person in a white T-shirt lying on the ground with hands bound behind their back, while people in police uniforms stand nearby. According to some posts, such as this one on X, this six-second clip allegedly shows police arresting the suspected perpetrator at the scene of the attack. The claim is also circulating in Arabic , Hebrew and Russian .
The video does not show the arrest of the suspected perpetrator. It was already circulating on social media shortly after the attack during the night from Saturday to Sunday.
At that time, however, the suspect was still on the run. The first reports that police had shot the alleged perpetrator did not emerge until more than 20 hours after the attack.
The media outlet Junge Freiheit initially shared the video on its social media channels, from where it was picked up by other accounts. The red-and-white "JF" logo is clearly visible in the video. Junge Freiheit is a right-wing German weekly newspaper.
In its Facebook post, Junge Freiheit initially wrote: "Arrest at the scene of the Berlin attack. It is still unclear whether this is the perpetrator."
The outlet later updated the post with the clarification: "According to police, this is not the suspect. The suspect remains at large."
On X, Junge Freiheit originally wrote: "According to eyewitnesses, the man lying on the ground is the rampage driver arrested at CSD Berlin."
The newspaper later deleted the post and disclosed that, according to police, the footage showed a different arrest on the sidelines of the CSD.
Whether the video was actually recorded in connection with the CSD in Berlin remains unclear. So far, there is no indication that the footage is older and therefore being taken out of context.
When asked whether the video showed a police operation related to the CSD, Berlin police neither confirmed nor denied that such an operation had taken place and referred inquiries to Germany's federal public prosecutor's office.
What is clear, however, is that the video does not show the arrest of the suspect.
Claim: A number of videos have popped up on TikTok, allegedly showing genuine reactions to the Islamist terror attack in Berlin.
The videos were generated using artificial intelligence. Their visual style makes this clear, and the platforms on which they appear also label them as AI-generated. Nevertheless, they are being widely shared in connection with Berlin Pride.
In one video , styled as a street interview, an AI-generated young woman draped in a rainbow flag says: "We just want to celebrate in peace." A voice from behind responds: "Enjoy what you voted for."
Another video statement claims that the German government can no longer cope with Islamist terrorism.
The videos do not show real statements from CSD attendees. Instead, they present staged political messages designed to create the impression of authentic reactions to a real event.
Although clearly labeled as AI, such videos can still contribute to the spread of disinformation by associating real groups of people with political statements.
Users are also reacting to the AI-generated videos. Comments show people sharing blue heart emojis, a symbol associated with the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD), or writing comments such as: "Then you should have voted for the decent party."
Calls for political consequences after Berlin Pride attack To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
The account sharing these fake CSD reactions regularly shares AI-generated videos, some of them featuring political messages.
Another clip even imitates an official police statement, featuring an AI-generated police officer that claims that the suspected attacker was known to authorities but was repeatedly released because prisons were overcrowded.
Labels indicating AI-generated content are often small and can easily be overlooked while scrolling on mobile phone screens.
Note: This article is part of a collaboration between Germany's public broadcasting fact-checking teams ARD-Faktenfinder and DW Fact check.
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