Fact-check: ‘Foreign commanders’ spotted directing Hong Kong protests?
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A photo has been shared hundreds of times in multiple posts on Facebook, Weibo and Twitter, claiming it is “Caucasian”. Pro-democracy protesters are directing protests from an “action command center” in Hong Kong. The claim is false. US broadcaster ABC News said the photo showed its staff working in protest. AFP separately identified a man in the photo as an ABC News journalist.
This photo was posted here on Facebook in a public group called “Alliance in Support of Our Police Force Official FB Fan Page”.
This post has been shared over 600 times.
It was published on October 3, 2019, two days after Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protesters staged a massive demonstration against China’s National Day. Here is an AFP report on the events.
In the photo, several people can be seen standing next to a carrier of black people with the license plate CX7. Another black vehicle with registration plate CX78 can also be seen ahead of the vehicle.
Below is a screenshot of the misleading Facebook post:
The post’s caption, written in both English and traditional Chinese characters, translates to: “From Silk Road 21. Hong Kong Riots: Action Command Center
“During the Hong Kong riots on National Day, a ‘former soldier’ snapped this photo.” Attached caption:
“‘This is the command car that ordered the protesters down from my apartment yesterday. As the clearance proceeded, the Caucasians returned to the car to change their clothes and freshen up.
“Pay attention to the six abdominal muscles, age and overall body condition. Also note that the car they use, a CX7, is very similar to the car in front of them, the CX78. There are one or two other cars. One of which is front as support vehicles.
“To me it looks like an operational support team — external ‘consultants’.”
Another Facebook post previously published on the same date in the Facebook group 21SilkRd can be found here with a similar caption in English. It has been shared over 150 times.
The photo was also published on Facebook here, here and here. here and here on Weibo; And here and here on Twitter with similar claims. It was published here and in other Facebook posts here with the claim that the cars may be owned by Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific.
The claims are false. American broadcaster ABC News published the news on October 3, 2019, clarifying that the photo was actually of its news crew working at a demonstration in Hong Kong.
The headline of the report reads: “ABC News Hong Kong staff misidentified in viral social media photo”.
The report reads in part: “A photo circulating on social media showed senior foreign correspondent Ian Pinnell posing for protesters in Hong Kong. and misidentified ABC News staff as ‘external consultants’ and ‘an operational support team’.
“This photo was taken on Tuesday of an apartment building at the intersection of Star Street and Monmouth Path in Hong Kong’s Wan Chai district, apparently next to the Three Pacific Place office building. The photo was captioned by an ABC news team as ‘Protesters A vehicle used as a ‘directing command car’ has also been misidentified.
“The ABC News team was in Hong Kong on Tuesday covering an unauthorized protest march in the Admiralty District, including a clearance operation outside the Hong Kong government headquarters. The ABC News team first drove their vehicles down Monmouth Path. Was kept on.
The report also included a screenshot comparison of the image in the misleading post with images of Pinel in Hong Kong.
Below is a screenshot of the image:
Below is a screenshot comparison of the misleading image (L) and the panel image in the ABC News article (R):
A video included in the ABC News article shows Pinel broadcasting live in Hong Kong at the one minute and 56 second mark. The video is embedded below:
On 1 October 2019, Pinnell tweeted the video and a photo of the events in Hong Kong separately from his official Twitter account.
The image in the misleading posts here corresponds to a Google Street View image from Monmouth Path in Wan Chai District. The location can be seen on Google Street View below:
