A video allegedly shows tens of thousands of people from Northern Kurdistan crossing the border on their way to Rojava to support their people. This claim is being shared several times online alongside a video showing large crowds moving along snow-covered roads, including this postwith nearly a million views on X.

Original publisher’s rating

DW Fact check: False The video is old and does not show people heading toward northern Syria. By tracing the audio on Instagram, DW identified the clip as having been posted in January 2023 , long before the current Syrian developments. DW also found a lot of similar posts with the same audio file on Instagram, including one that has garnered 2.8M views. Users in the comment sections identify the scene as crowds returning from a sports event. One comment beneath the video with 2.8M views says this is how "Uloq köpkari" is. Commenters under the original posts identify the gathering as crowds returning from a Central Asian equestrian sports event, specifically linked to Kökbörü(also known as Kokpar), a traditional horseback contest played across Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. The video has no connection to the Syrian–Turkish border or any movement toward Rojava.

Reviewed by Deutsche Welle ↗ · January 23, 2026