This picture taken on July 23, 2019 shows journalists looking at the vandalised grave of pro-Beijing lawmaker Junius Ho\u2019s parents in the Tuen Mun district of Hong Kong. \u2013 Hong Kong police on July 25 banned a planned protest against suspected triad gangs who beat up pro-democracy demonstrators, ratcheting up tensions ahead of what is expected to be another weekend of anti-government rallies. Ho has been criticised by some after he was seen shaking hands with pro-government suspected triad gangs members before they attacked pro-democracy protesters returning from a march on July 21. (Photo by Philip FONG \/ AFP)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Chinese tanks at the border? False. Photo of a protester biting off a policeman\u2019s finger? Misleading. In polarised Hong Kong, a fake news fight for public opinion has become as crucial a battleground as the city streets.<\/p>\n
During weeks of pro-democracy protests that have involved millions of people and frequently turned violent, online rumours and conspiracy theories have sowed confusion and deepened distrust.<\/p>\n
From 2011 footage of South Korean soldiers misrepresented as an impending Chinese \u201cinvasion\u201d to doctored photographs exaggerating the size of rallies, Hong Kong citizens have been bombarded with conflicting claims from both sides of the political divide.<\/p>\n
The numbers signalling the impact of the disinformation can be shocking.<\/p>\n
Footage of a convoy of Chinese tanks that posts claimed were being sent \u201cto suppress Hong Kongers and cause bloodshed\u201d quickly racked up more than 800,000 views on one Twitter account alone.<\/p>\n
Hong Kong authorities have been forced to repeatedly deny claims circulating on social media \u2014 most recently, that People\u2019s Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers had been brought in from the mainland to defend government buildings.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is absolutely no such thing and all these claims are totally false,\u201d Hong Kong\u2019s government said this week, responding to the allegations.<\/p>\n
Police have also been the target of much fake news, including a video debunked by AFP that purportedly showed officers shooting a woman in the face.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe spreading of numerous rumours about police operations will drive a wedge between the Hong Kong Police and community,\u201d the force told AFP in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u2018Deep-rooted\u2019 divide <\/strong>Videos and images of protests or violent incidents, often selectively edited or doctored to support a particular viewpoint have circulated quickly on social media platforms, but also private chat groups such as on Weibo or WhatsApp.<\/p>\nIn these closed environments, entrenched ideas are rarely challenged by facts, according to journalism professor and fake news expert Masato Kajimoto.<\/p>\n\u201cThe rather simple, one-sided views expressed in such content makes it harder to reconcile the difference,\u201d between Hong Kong\u2019s warring camps, Kajimato told AFP.<\/p>\nWhile a lot of disinformation originates and spreads on social media or chat groups, the mainstream press is also guilty of fanning the flames, according to Kajimoto.<\/p>\n\u201cThe excuse that journalists are simply reporting about what people are sharing and discussing is a cop-out,\u201d he said, pointing to a widely reported recent conspiracy theory that claimed a policeman\u2019s watch proved a press briefing was staged.<\/p>\n\u201cIn this age of misinformation and disinformation, the news media should not report anything they haven\u2019t independently verified.\u201d<\/p>\nJournalists themselves have complained of pressure to make events fit a certain narrative.<\/p>\nThis month, the staff union for Hong Kong\u2019s public broadcaster claimed reporters were instructed to spread misinformation about a protester using pliers to sever a police officer\u2019s fingers. <\/p>\nThe channel has said it is investigating.<\/p>\nChina\u2019s state-run media is a driving force behind discrediting pro-democracy events, according to lawyer Rachel Lao, who is a member of a pro-democracy legal group.<\/p>\n\u201cThe Chinese Communist Party is skilled at creating confusion among the public in China and shaming any such movements,\u201d Lao told AFP.<\/p>\nBut she said the bombardment of state-sponsored disinformation may have the opposite effect from what Beijing intends.<\/p>\n\u201cBecause the news is so obviously fake to Hongkongers, they are now very skeptical of any news they receive,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u2018Too much information\u2019 <\/strong>Jeffrey Ngo, a pro-democracy activist, said the sheer volume of conflicting and false news circulating online left people confused.<\/p>\n\u201cIn a world with too much information, what is real and not real is very tricky (to determine),\u201d Ngo said, adding the this may work better for authorities and the city\u2019s pro-Beijing camp.<\/p>\n\u201cIt ultimately plays well for those in power, when ordinary people decide not to seek the truth because they think it\u2019s so hard to figure out what is true and what isn\u2019t,\u201d he added.<\/p>\nDedicated fact-checking services, run by independent or mainstream media groups, have emerged in recent years across the globe.<\/p>\nAFP\u2019s own Asia Fact-Check service has debunked more than a dozen false or misleading claims about the Hong Kong protests, published in English.<\/p>\nSome local independent media organisations have also published Chinese-language fact-check reports about the protests.<\/p>\nHowever, Hong Kong has yet to see the kind of strong fact-checking culture emerge as seen in India and Indonesia over recent years.<\/p>\nSuspicion and doubt, in the meantime, is filling the vacuum.<\/p>\n\u201cThere isn\u2019t neutral, reliable media that can build a bridge between the two sides and win the trust of both,\u201d Phillis Zhu, a mainland Chinese student living in Hong Kong, told AFP.<\/p>\n\u201cActually, media is causing the conflicts.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
In these closed environments, entrenched ideas are rarely challenged by facts, according to journalism professor and fake news expert Masato Kajimoto.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe rather simple, one-sided views expressed in such content makes it harder to reconcile the difference,\u201d between Hong Kong\u2019s warring camps, Kajimato told AFP.<\/p>\n
While a lot of disinformation originates and spreads on social media or chat groups, the mainstream press is also guilty of fanning the flames, according to Kajimoto.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe excuse that journalists are simply reporting about what people are sharing and discussing is a cop-out,\u201d he said, pointing to a widely reported recent conspiracy theory that claimed a policeman\u2019s watch proved a press briefing was staged.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn this age of misinformation and disinformation, the news media should not report anything they haven\u2019t independently verified.\u201d<\/p>\n
Journalists themselves have complained of pressure to make events fit a certain narrative.<\/p>\n
This month, the staff union for Hong Kong\u2019s public broadcaster claimed reporters were instructed to spread misinformation about a protester using pliers to sever a police officer\u2019s fingers. <\/p>\n
The channel has said it is investigating.<\/p>\n
China\u2019s state-run media is a driving force behind discrediting pro-democracy events, according to lawyer Rachel Lao, who is a member of a pro-democracy legal group.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Chinese Communist Party is skilled at creating confusion among the public in China and shaming any such movements,\u201d Lao told AFP.<\/p>\n
But she said the bombardment of state-sponsored disinformation may have the opposite effect from what Beijing intends.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause the news is so obviously fake to Hongkongers, they are now very skeptical of any news they receive,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u2018Too much information\u2019 <\/strong>Jeffrey Ngo, a pro-democracy activist, said the sheer volume of conflicting and false news circulating online left people confused.<\/p>\n\u201cIn a world with too much information, what is real and not real is very tricky (to determine),\u201d Ngo said, adding the this may work better for authorities and the city\u2019s pro-Beijing camp.<\/p>\n\u201cIt ultimately plays well for those in power, when ordinary people decide not to seek the truth because they think it\u2019s so hard to figure out what is true and what isn\u2019t,\u201d he added.<\/p>\nDedicated fact-checking services, run by independent or mainstream media groups, have emerged in recent years across the globe.<\/p>\nAFP\u2019s own Asia Fact-Check service has debunked more than a dozen false or misleading claims about the Hong Kong protests, published in English.<\/p>\nSome local independent media organisations have also published Chinese-language fact-check reports about the protests.<\/p>\nHowever, Hong Kong has yet to see the kind of strong fact-checking culture emerge as seen in India and Indonesia over recent years.<\/p>\nSuspicion and doubt, in the meantime, is filling the vacuum.<\/p>\n\u201cThere isn\u2019t neutral, reliable media that can build a bridge between the two sides and win the trust of both,\u201d Phillis Zhu, a mainland Chinese student living in Hong Kong, told AFP.<\/p>\n\u201cActually, media is causing the conflicts.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cIn a world with too much information, what is real and not real is very tricky (to determine),\u201d Ngo said, adding the this may work better for authorities and the city\u2019s pro-Beijing camp.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt ultimately plays well for those in power, when ordinary people decide not to seek the truth because they think it\u2019s so hard to figure out what is true and what isn\u2019t,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Dedicated fact-checking services, run by independent or mainstream media groups, have emerged in recent years across the globe.<\/p>\n
AFP\u2019s own Asia Fact-Check service has debunked more than a dozen false or misleading claims about the Hong Kong protests, published in English.<\/p>\n
Some local independent media organisations have also published Chinese-language fact-check reports about the protests.<\/p>\n
However, Hong Kong has yet to see the kind of strong fact-checking culture emerge as seen in India and Indonesia over recent years.<\/p>\n
Suspicion and doubt, in the meantime, is filling the vacuum.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere isn\u2019t neutral, reliable media that can build a bridge between the two sides and win the trust of both,\u201d Phillis Zhu, a mainland Chinese student living in Hong Kong, told AFP.<\/p>\n
\u201cActually, media is causing the conflicts.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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