A viral claim suggesting that satanic rituals were performed near the G7 summit venue in Cornwall, UK, is found to be baseless. The videos of people dressed in red robes roaming the streets of Cornwall have gone viral on social media.
The three-day G7 (Group of Seven) summit, held from June 11-13, saw the leaders of seven nations come for face-to-face talks in Carbis Bay for the first time in two years. The issues included COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and trade.
Red Cloaked People Were Seen Walking Into the Sea
Multiple videos and pictures of people clad in red robes, wigs, masks and painted white faces emerged on social media. The members are seen walking slowly with their arms extended outwards and veils drawn over their faces.
Users claimed that they belonged to the satanic rituals being conducted near the G-7 summit venue. The posts were made on multiple social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
"Satanic rituals going on here in Cornwall Carbis Bay where the G7 is being held," read a post made on Facebook.
"This is a satanic ritual being performed at the G7 meetings. Someone said they were sacrificing humanity to their gods? IDK but that sounded like a good explanation to me," tweeted a user.
"The Satanic Freakshow outside the G7," posted a user on Instagram.
Some of the videos showed the group wandering through the street while few others revealed the group moving towards the sea.
What is the Truth?
Debunking the claim, Reuters reported the red-cloaked people were members of the Red Brigade, a performance activist group that has been attending climate change demonstrations since 2019. Claiming that they were not performing any satanic ritual, the outlet stated that the act was part of a protest organized by the Extinction Rebellion (XR) climate activist group on June 12.
AFP Fact Check also claimed that the groups were part of demonstrations organized by environmental activists who had no formal connection with the leaders' meeting and had nothing to do with devil worship.
Speaking to the outlet Joseph Potts, a spokesman for the UK's G7 2021 presidency, said, "We can confirm that this was not arranged by the G7 organizers and had nothing to do with the UK government. I believe it was a protest organized by the Extinction Rebellion environmental protest group."
Mat Osmond, a member of XR too confirmed that their act was not a satanic ritual, as was being claimed through the hoax on social media. "I can wholeheartedly reject the idea that XR has any connection with Satanism. It is an utterly absurd idea!" Osmond told the outlet.
