A woman walks by Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal, Friday, April 10, 2020. A video that shows a fire at a different church in Trois-Rivières, Que. from last October was recenty shared on social media by accounts who falsely claimed it showed the Notre-Dame Basilica in flames. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
A woman walks by Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal, Friday, April 10, 2020. A video that shows a fire at a different church in Trois-Rivières, Que. from last October was recenty shared on social media by accounts who falsely claimed it showed the Notre-Dame Basilica in flames. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
A viral video claimed Montreal's Notre-Dame Basilica purposely used church bells to "drown out" the sound of Muslims praying outside. This is false. There is no evidence the bells that rung during prayer were any different from the automated bells that ring from the church each hour to indicate the time. A Basilica spokesperson denied the bells rung in "response" to the Muslim prayer as the video claimed.Ìý
THE CLAIM
On Tuesday, , formerly Twitter, claimed Muslims held a prayer service at a Montreal cathedral "in an attempt to intimidate Catholics."
"This was the cathedral's response," the X post reads. The accompanying video shows two groups of men and women engaged in a Muslim call to prayer while church bells ring loudly in the background. Standing to the side is a person with a Palestinian flag attached to their bike.Ìý
The video received 85,000 likes in less than two days and more than five million views according to X's metrics.
A text caption overlaid on the video is partly cut off, but indicates the church "responded" to the public prayer by "sounding the bells to drown out" the worshippers.Ìý
Other social media users posted the video with similar claims the church — identified in some posts as the Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal — sounded the bells to block the prayers. The video earned tens of thousands of likes and views on platforms like , and .Ìý
RATING: False/no evidenceÂ
A comparison between the video and the Notre-Dame Basilica shows it took place there, as of St. Joseph, the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist from the church exterior match with existing and .Ìý
A church spokesperson said the basilica's bells ring automatically at each hour every day.Ìý
"This was in no way a response from the Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal related to pro-Palestinian demonstrations or intended to disrupt prayers," spokesperson Raphael Rochette said.
The church's is 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Bells ring  on the hour, with one extra bell added each hour.Ìý
The video was on June 9 by a user who said the public prayer took place June 8 at around 6 p.m.
At 6 p.m., the church rings "three series of three rings from the biggest bell followed by a flurry from the three biggest bells," according to its website.Ìý
The bells heard in the background sound similar to posted on different days by others.Ìý
The July X post's claim Muslims held prayer outside the church in an attempt to intimidate Catholics is speculation.Ìý
While ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø could not find evidence of a planned event specifically at the basilica, the group Montreal4Palestine earlier that day at , which is in walking distance to the church.Ìý
The X user who posted the original video filmed and demonstrators at that location earlier on June 8 before filming at the basilica.Ìý
The church, situated next to a public square, is one of several meeting places the group uses for demonstrations.
SOURCES
Claim posted to July 22, 2025 (, ), June 29, 2025 (), June 10, 2025 (, ), June 10, 2025 (, )
History & Heritage. Basilique Notre-Dame De Montreal . Accessed July 23, 2025 ()
What It Took to Restore Montreal’s Iconic Notre-Dame Basilica. Basilique Notre-Dame De Montreal . Accessed July 24, 2025 ()
Our Notre-Dame Basilica. Basilique Notre-Dame De Montreal . Accessed July 23, 2025 ()
Video first posted to June 9, 2025 ()
Church Bells at Notre-Dame Basilica in Old Montreal. @SkyOfTheUniverse on . June 1, 2025 (, )
Video of June 8 demonstration organized by Montreal4Palestine from June 8, 2025 on (, ) and poster advertising event from June 4, 2025 on ()
Photo of demonstrators from June 8, 2025 ()
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