With the rise of social media and generative AI, how much of what we see online is true? In this new series, SCMP Fact-Check, the Post investigates claims circulating online and debunks viral misinformation impacting the daily lives of Hongkongers.
“A firefighter holding a cat he saved from the Hong Kong fire,” reads the superimposed text of an Instagram post from November 29.
The image in the post appears to show a Hong Kong firefighter clutching a cat wrapped in a towel.
It circulated online in the wake of the city’s deadliest fire in decades at Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court, which has claimed at least 160 lives and left thousands homeless.
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The photo has been shared in similar posts on Facebook and X.
But the photo predates the blaze in Tai Po.
Investigation
A reverse image search on Baidu found a similar photo taken from a different angle in a report by activist group Hong Kong Animal Post, published on May 24, 2024.
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