False: This poster supporting Hong Kong police is not in train stations all over China

By Skylar Li, Cherry Shao, Sally Lau

A photo of a giant poster with a message of support for Hong Kong police officers was shared Wednesday with a claim that the poster “will be posted from today at all train stations nationwide in mainland China.”

The claim is false. The photo, which displays the poster’s message in Chinese, “Police officers, 1.4 billion brothers and sisters support you,” was not taken at a train station but in a shopping mall in Guangzhou.

The image was widely circulated on Facebook and Weibo, with some posts gaining more than 5,000 engagements.

Annie Lab’s investigation reveals that the photo in question was taken in Clifford Wonderland, a shopping mall in Guangzhou.

Another photo from a different angle, found on Weibo, shows the shopping mall’s logo.

Other photos of the shopping mall available on the internet confirm that its decoration, ceiling, and screen are identical to those in the circulated photo.

Jordan Chan (Chen Xiaochun), a Hong Kong actor and a member of the Huizhou Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, also shared the photo on Weibo; the post has got over 4,000 reposts and over 48,000 likes.

A member of a public Facebook group with more than 360,000 users, named 巴打絲打 Facebook Club, also posted it, gaining more than 5,000 reactions, 1,000 comments and 470 shares as of Thursday morning.

Internet searches through Baidu and Google show no other public facilities such as train stations or shopping malls displaying this poster. Annie Lab could not find evidence or any signs of a nationwide campaign through train stations in China, either.

Disclaimer: This is a student work. Although JMSC faculty members have done everything possible to verify its accuracy, we cannot guarantee there are no mistakes. If you notice an error or have any questions, please email us at contact@annieasia.org.