On May 16, Facebook users disseminated a video taken at a demonstration protesting the so-called law on agents. The footage shows young people making a specific gesture – kissing the three middle fingers of their right hands and raising them in a salute. According to the disseminators’ comments, as well as the captions on the video, this is a Nazi salute and proof that the demonstrations are being carried out by members of the Franklin Club.
The claim that the young people shown in the video are giving the Nazi salute is false. In fact, the gesture is used in The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins’ best-selling novel, and symbolizes admiration, gratitude, and goodbye. All of this was confirmed by the author of the video as well.
The so-called three-fingered salute in the Hunger Games books was used by the people of District 12, and it represents admiration, gratitude, and goodbye to a particular person or group of people. However, it then evolved into a symbol of resistance against a repressive regime (the Capitol). Interestingly, in the books, the gesture is made with the left hand, whereas in the movies, produced based on these books, the right hand is used.
The video, which has circulated on Facebook, was first posted in the Facebook group Daitove [Shelter Someone] on May 14, and the video’s author accompanied it with a description that says that the young people are using the famous “Hunger Games” gesture, which symbolizes freedom, unity, and support.
The three-finger salute gesture has been frequently used by protesters in various countries in recent years, including Myanmar and Thailand.
About the source:
The Facebook user, Nodo Demurishvili, has also spread disinformation in the past. Read more in the Myth Detector’s materials.
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