The Nazi salute image at the centre of a truth battle, and Denmark’s powerful weapon against fake news

A photograph of a black-clad man apparently giving a Nazi salute became the defining image of a Copenhagen demonstration, but it quickly sparked a second dispute: was the picture real or AI-generated?

The man attended a rally organised by the right-wing grassroots movement Det Danske Folk on Saturday, Denmark's traditional flag day for deployed soldiers. The event was not a typical commemorative ceremony. Its central demand was “remigration”, described in the article as mass expulsions of immigrants.

The demonstration was at one point confronted by a counterprotest on Dag Hammarskjölds Allé, near the US embassy. Organisers had distributed leaflets explicitly saying they did not want Nazi or other extremist expressions, yet the image of the saluting man drew much of the media attention. The confrontation also produced photos and video that fuelled a wider social-media argument over what was authentic and what was false.

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I oppose both people giving Nazi salutes in Copenhagen streets and those preaching Islamism in Copenhagen streets. It is not difficult.

Social Democratic politician Frederik Vad wrote that he opposed both people giving Nazi salutes in Copenhagen streets and those preaching Islamism there. For counterprotesters and their supporters, the image offered a powerful basis for associating the rally with Nazism. Several people responding to Vad's post, however, claimed the picture was a fake generated by artificial intelligence.

Conservative politician Mona Juul also reacted angrily to the raised arm. Writing beneath a photograph of the man, she said, “You do not embrace Nazism, and you do not use its methods.”

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You do not embrace Nazism, and you do not use its methods.