Conveying Movie Scenes as Protest Status
Netizens Believing It as Fact Heighten 'Immigrant Hatred'
As protests continue for the fifth day following the death of a boy who was shot by police while fleeing a traffic checkpoint in Paris, sensational fake news stories are emerging.
On the 29th of last month (local time), during a protest against the shooting death of a teenager in Nanterre, France, a vehicle was set on fire. On the 27th, a police officer stopped a 17-year-old boy named Nael for violating traffic laws, but when Nael drove off, the officer shot and killed him. This incident has sparked ongoing protests condemning the police across France. [Image source=Yonhap News]
On the 2nd (local time), the British BBC reported that images circulating on platforms like Telegram, showing French protesters hijacking police vehicles and driving through the streets with the French flag, as well as videos of multiple passenger cars falling simultaneously from tall buildings, are being falsely presented as current scenes from the French protests.
In particular, the video of passenger cars falling from a tall building was revealed to be a filming scene from the 2016 movie "The Fate of the Furious," shot in Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
However, the video bore a TikTok logo and was spread as if it were real footage by Twitter accounts posing as news media, giving the impression that someone had filmed it directly, the report said.
It pointed out that such fake news mixed with genuine videos is spreading on social networking services (SNS), potentially heightening tensions.
Additionally, on the 1st, an online community Reddit post claimed that "French rioters severed a police officer's hand."
The post included a video showing a man lying on tram tracks with a severed hand, with blood flowing from the severed hand soaking the ground, appearing to depict a serious situation.
However, comments noted that the man was not wearing a uniform as stated in the post, making it difficult to identify him as a police officer, and that it was unclear whether the incident was caused by protesters based on the video. The post was later deleted.
This post also spread on Twitter and other platforms, where overseas netizens expressed immigrant hatred, saying things like, "Why do the media still call these rioters protesters when Black and North African immigrants who started the riot cut off a white citizen's hand?" and "When will the government intervene?"
On the 29th of last month (local time), amid ongoing protests against the shooting death of a teenager in Nanterre, France, a video circulated on social media (SNS) claiming to show the protest situation. This video was revealed to be a filming scene from the 2016 movie "Furious 7." [Photo by Twitter]
Meanwhile, on the 27th of last month, protests erupted after 17-year-old Nael, a French boy of Algerian descent, was shot and killed by police while fleeing a traffic checkpoint in Nanterre, on the outskirts of Paris. Analysts say the protests reflect the accumulated grievances of immigrant communities regarding racial discrimination, and the protests have continued for five days.
The police officer who shot Nael is in custody and under investigation for murder. He claims he initially aimed for Nael's leg but ended up shooting his chest after being hit when the car started moving.
According to media reports, more than 3,000 people have been arrested so far due to the protests. Across France, 45 police officers have been injured, and 577 vehicles and 74 buildings have been set on fire.
Furthermore, the protests are spreading to French-speaking cities.
In the city center of Lausanne, in the Swiss canton of Vaud, clashes occurred on the night of the 1st between about 100 protesters and police. Violent protests also broke out in Brussels, the capital of Belgium, on the 29th of last month, resulting in the arrest of more than ten people.
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