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Fact Check: Viral Video Not New — Shows Celebration in Essen, No 'Allahu Akbar' Chants

Short version: A Nov. 18, 2025 social post labelled a viral clip "NEW" and said marchers chanted "Allahu Akbar" while walking through a German Christmas market. That is incorrect. The footage was first shared on Dec. 11, 2024, and audio analysis finds drums, cheering and zaghareet (Levantine ululation), not chants of "Allahu Akbar." Background signs and landmarks identify the location as Essen.

09:59 PM, 11/21/2025Society
Fact Check: Viral Video Not New — Shows Celebration in Essen, No 'Allahu Akbar' Chants

A viral post on Nov. 18, 2025 presented a clip as "NEW" and claimed that large crowds of Muslims marched through a German Christmas market chanting "There is no God but Allah, Allah Akbar." That characterization is incorrect: the footage predates the Nov. 18 post and the audio does not contain chanting of "Allahu Akbar."

What was claimed

A social media account shared the video on Nov. 18, 2025 with the headline "🚨NEW:" and a caption asserting that the footage showed Muslims loudly chanting religious slogans while walking through a Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market) in Germany.

"In Germany, large crowds of Muslims walk directly through a Christmas market chanting: 'There is no God but Allah, Allah Akbar'"

What the evidence shows

Careful review of the clip and related posts indicates the following:

  • The footage was already circulating on social media on Dec. 11, 2024. A higher-resolution version was posted that day by German MEP Christine Anderson (AfD), who identified the participants as Syrians in Essen and framed the march as a celebration of the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
  • Audio analysis of the clip repeatedly reveals drums, general cheering and occasional zaghareet — a distinctive, high-pitched ululation used in Levantine celebratory contexts — but no clear shouts of "Allahu Akbar" or the variant "Allah Akbar."
  • Visual details corroborate the location as central Essen: market booths consistent with a Weihnachtsmarkt and signage referencing the Select Hotel Handelshof appear in the background.

How the claim was verified

Verification combined timeline checks, higher-resolution versions of the clip, and audio inspection. The earlier Dec. 11, 2024 postings establish that the video was not "new" in November 2025. Audio and visual markers (drums, cheering, zaghareet, Syrian flags, and local signage) better fit a celebratory march than the religious chanting alleged in the viral post.

Conclusion

The Nov. 18, 2025 post mischaracterized both the timing and the content of the footage. The clip had been shared publicly since Dec. 11, 2024, and its audio contains celebratory sounds — drums, cheers and zaghareet — rather than the Islamist chant claimed. Background landmarks and higher-quality uploads confirm the location as Essen and the context as a celebratory march, not the scene described in the viral caption.

Sources: Social media postings from Dec. 11, 2024 and Nov. 18, 2025; visual verification of Essen Weihnachtsmarkt landmarks; audio review of the shared clips.

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