Pro-Palestinian protests at colleges and in cities across the United States have drawn national attention with crackdowns by some school administrators and law enforcement, and now an American screen icon has been linked to the demonstrations.
A video posted to social media purports to show actor while on the set of a new Netflix TV series. Newsweek has fact-checked the footage, speaking to a source close to the actor.
Demonstrations have intensified as the death toll has mounted in the Gaza Strip. More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its war in Gaza following the Hamas attack in Israel on October 7, which left 1,200 dead, and an estimated 240 taken hostage.
Israel and many of its supporters have labeled the protests antisemitic, and say they pose a threat to the safety of Jewish students. Some have pointed to videos of protesters outside Columbia University's gates in New York who were caught on camera making antisemitic remarks, but the student protesters—some of whom are Jewish—have said those individuals do not represent them and that their movement is peaceful.
The Claim
The video, shared by numerous accounts on X, previously Twitter, on Wednesday, shows De Niro shouting the lines:
"This is not a movie. This is real. Right now, you've got to listen, you've got to work, you've got to get your job done. Stand by, offer your prayers and support, that's great. But stand behind the barricade. If you're talking nonsense, then you've got to go home.
"They say they're going to do it again! Again! You don't want that. None of us want that. Come on, let's all get serious," he continues.
Some versions of the video that circulated on social media assert that the "again" De Niro is referring to is Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
"Robert De Niro standing up to the Hamas supporting rabble protesting. He's had enough. We've all had enough," GB News reporter Darren Grimes posted Wednesday morning on X.
Grimes has nearly 324,00 followers and his re-post of the video had been viewed over 285,000 times as of 1 p.m. Wednesday.
Other news outlets pounced on the viral video and wrote headlines this week that asserted De Niro was arguing with protesters. By Wednesday afternoon, some of those articles had been removed.
The Facts
In Netflix's Zero Day, a political conspiracy thriller centered around a global cyberattack, De Niro plays a former U.S. President named "George Mullen."
Clips from the series' set have been circulating across social media platforms since at least April 26.
Reviewed by Newsweek, Getty Images photos posted April 26 show De Niro and co-star Jesse Plemmons with firefighters and paramedics on the set in New York City. Some of the Getty photos show De Niro and Plemmons smiling and shaking hands with first responders and extras.
Stan Rosenfield of Rosenfield Media Group, which represents the award-winning actor, said the video that is circulating that insinuates De Niro is arguing with protesters is "100 percent fake."
"It is 100 percent a scene from Mr. De Niro's Netflix TV series, Zero Day, where his character is talking to extras," Rosenfield told Newsweek Tuesday in a phone interview.
A spokesperson for Netflix also verified that the images were captured during a rehearsal for the series.
Fact-checker David Puente also reviewed and debunked the context of the viral video in a thread on X.
Zero Day marks De Niro's first-ever TV series. In addition to Plemmons, De Niro will be joined by co-stars Lizzy Caplan, Angela Bassett and Matthew Modine in the political thriller, which does not yet have an official release date.
Coincidentally, one of Netflix's quote-tags for the show is, "Zero Day will stream on Netflix soon. In the meantime, trust no one."
The Ruling
False.
DeNiro was not arguing with pro-Palestinian protesters in a viral video that circulated this week. The video is a clip from the upcoming Netflix show, Zero Day, that was posted and shared out of context by a host of social media accounts.
FACT CHECK BY Gabe Whisnant
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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About the writer
Gabe Whisnant is Deputy Weekend Editor at Newsweek based in South Carolina. Prior to joining Newsweek in 2023, he directed ... Read more
