Photo shows a truck convoy in Canada, but not the “Freedom Convoy”

Mixed among the factual reports of the "Freedom Convoy" of truckers who traveled to Canada’s capital to protest vaccine mandates are some claims that test credulity, and images that are being wrongly repurposed to supposedly show support for the big-rig demonstration. 

Among them is a picture of a long line of nose-to-tail trucks that stretches past the photo’s frame. But the image is old, and posts sharing it were flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

While there are plenty of photos showing trucks on Canadian roads as part of the "Freedom Convoy," this isn’t one of them. 

A reverse-image search of the photo in the post turns up a February 2019 CTV News story about a different convoy. Three years ago, Canadian truckers also drove to Ottawa but it wasn’t about a vaccine mandate — the pandemic hadn’t started yet. Rather, they were protesting what they considered the federal government’s lack of support for the energy sector.

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Facebook posts

stated on January 22, 2020 in a Facebook post

Says a coronavirus patent expired just as there is a "sudden outbreak" and, despite "media fear-mongering," there is already a vaccine available.

The caption of the photo in that story says "a convoy of at least 100 trucks is driving from Alberta to Parliament Hill to draw attention to what it says is Ottawa’s lack of support for the energy sector." 

We rate claims that this photo shows the current convoy protesting vaccine mandates False.