A widely-shared image that appears to show an anti-fascist protester beating a police officer has been revealed to be fake.

The image, which shows a man in an “Antifascist Action” jacket beating a fallen police officer, was shared widely after a white supremacist rally in Virginia turned violent. People shared the photo as evidence that “many sides” were to blame for the violence, as President Donald Trump had suggested.

“Today's @NYTimes front-page portrays the violent Antifa thugs as noble, & willing to ‘defend’ themselves. THAT is #Fakenews. And despicable,” one popular radio host wrote on Twitter, alongside a copy of the photo.

The photo, however, is not from last weekend’s rally, but from a demonstration in Athens, Greece in 2009. In the original photo – which is available on Getty Images – there is no anti-fascist logo on the man’s jacket.

The description for the photo reads, in part: “Greek youths clash with riot police during a demonstration commemorating the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos’ by police a year ago.”

Accusations against the anti-fascist movement (or “antifa,”) and the so-called “alt-left” flew after the Charlottesville rally, where dozens of people were injured and one died in clashes between white supremacists and counter-protesters.

Mr Trump himself toed this line, in a free-wheeling press conference on Tuesday.

“What about the alt-left that came charging at the, as you say, the alt-right? Do they have any semblance of guilt?” he asked. “What about the fact that they came charging with clubs in their hands, swinging clubs? Do they have any problem? I think they do.”

Protesters on both the left and right have admitted to being armed at the rally, and to occasionally resorting to violence. Reporters on the ground described a heated back-and-forth between both groups.

The man accused of hitting and killing a counter-protester with his car, however, is said to be a white nationalist and Nazi sympathiser. (Right-wing websites have claimed, with no evidence, that he is a “a supporter of Hillary Clinton and member of Antifa in receipt of funding by George Soros”.)

Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Show all 9 1 /9 Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Protesters clash and several are injured White nationalist demonstrators clash with counter demonstrators at the entrance to Lee Park in Charlottesville, Virginia. A state of emergency is declared, August 12 2017 Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Trump supporters at the protest A white nationalist demonstrator walks into Lee Park in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. Hundreds of people chanted, threw punches, hurled water bottles and unleashed chemical sprays on each other Saturday after violence erupted at a white nationalist rally in Virginia. AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville State police stand ready in riot gear Virginia State Police cordon off an area around the site where a car ran into a group of protesters after a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Militia armed with assault rifles White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' with body armor and combat weapons evacuate comrades who were pepper sprayed after the 'Unite the Right' rally was declared a unlawful gathering by Virginia State Police. Militia members marched through the city earlier in the day, armed with assault rifles. Getty Images Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Statue of Confederate General Robert E Lee The statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee stands behind a crowd of hundreds of white nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' during the 'Unite the Right' rally 12 August 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. They are protesting the removal of the statue from Emancipation Park in the city. Getty Images Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Racial tensions sparked the violence White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' exchange insults with counter-protesters as they attempt to guard the entrance to Lee Park during the 'Unite the Right' rally Getty Violence on the streets of Charlottesville A car plows through protesters A vehicle drives into a group of protesters demonstrating against a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The incident resulted in multiple injuries, some life-threatening, and one death. AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Rescue personnel help injured people after a car ran into a large group of protesters after an white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville President Donald Trump speaks about the ongoing situation in Charlottesville, Virginia from his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. He spoke about "loyalty" and "healing wounds" left by decades of racism.

According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), right-wing extremists in the US have been responsible for significantly more deaths in the last 10 years than those on the far left.

The organisation reports that domestic extremists killed at least 372 people in the US in the last decade. Approximately 74 per cent of those deaths were at the hands of right-wing extremists, compared to six per cent at the hands of left-wing extremists.

But ADL’s Marilyn Mayo told Snopes that both sides could be incited to violence in today’s polarised political climate.