The Belarusian pro-government media outlet “Minskaya Pravda” raised the issue of the Birmingham City Council composition on the air of the program “Ostraya Politika” via its YouTube channel, on August 30, 2024.
“British Birmingham is no longer what it used to be. Social media is buzzing about a video recorded before a Birmingham City Council meeting. But wait, that's Britain. And the main question is, when did this city join the UAE? Because among the councilors, there were only British people in security detail. It's unclear whom they are guarding, but oh well. The British had a certain idea of inclusiveness, but no one is asking them about it now. Recent protests have shown that people would be arrested for posts on social media,” the host said and represented a video that allegedly confirmed his words.
The WTF team traced the origin of this video. It is circulating on the X social network and VKontakte as footage from a Birmingham City Council meeting. The video publication date is around the same as the one shown on the “Minskaya Pravda” YouTube, the end of August 2024.
Two weeks earlier, on August 13–14, the same video was posted online under the title “Islamic Prayer in Birmingham, UK”. On Instagram and TikTok, its title asks “What did you notice?” The comments mention the presence of British police.
The actual Birmingham City Council does not look like the one shown in the video. This can be seen on the council's official website, which hosts livestreams of the meetings.
The footage of the July council meeting shows that the room and furnishings differ from the “Minskaya Pravda” video. The audience also appears different. Committee meetings are also held in another environment.
