Police in the Hong Kong shopping district of Causeway Bay after a police officer was stabbed in the back. ( AFP / ANTHONY WALLACE)

Fabricated newspaper advert circulates online after Hong Kong man stabs police officer

  • This article is more than one year old.
  • Published on July 13, 2021 at 04:55
  • Updated on July 13, 2021 at 10:27
  • 3 min read
  • By AFP Hong Kong

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An image circulating online purports to show a Hong Kong newspaper advert warning firms against hiring university students who expressed support for a Hong Kong police officer's attacker. But the image -- shared in multiple Facebook posts -- has been fabricated: no such advert was published in the local newspaper.

The image was posted on Facebook here on July 8, 2021. It has been shared more than 300 times.

It purports to show an advert published in Hong Kong newspaper Ta Kung Pao on July 8.

Traditional Chinese-language characters on the image translate to English as: "The Chamber and its enterprises will carefully consider the employment of graduates from the University of Hong Kong (HKU). It's unacceptable to show respect for a terrorist."

The logo for the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce (HKGCC) can be seen at the bottom of the image.

The post's caption states: "The business community will also deal hard with graduates who support a terrorist!"

Screenshot taken on July 12, 2021, of the misleading Facebook post

The misleading image circulated online after Hong Kong authorities warned against mourning a man who stabbed a police officer in the Causeway Bay shopping district.

The man fatally wounded himself after the attack on July 1, 2021, AFP reported here.

On July 9, HKU's student union council withdrew a motion that expressed sympathy following the man's death, as reported by Hong Kong broadcaster RTHK here.

The same image was also published here and here on Facebook.

The image, however, has been fabricated.

Keyword searches on Google found the original newspaper page from July 8 uploaded on Ta Kung Pao’s official site here.

The original page contained a report about a police officer's wife who condemned mourning the police officer's attacker. The report does not mention HKU. 

Below is a screenshot comparison of the fabricated image shared in the misleading posts (L) and the actual newspaper page uploaded by Ta Kung Pao (R):

Screenshot comparison of the image shared in the misleading posts (L) and the newspaper page uploaded by Ta Kung Pao (R)

The Hong Kong Ta Kung Wen Wei Media Group -- which owns Ta Kung Pao newspaper -- said it did not publish the purported advert circulating online.

It issued this statement about the misleading posts on July 8, 2021.

Sharing a screenshot comparison of the fabricated image (L) and the actual newspaper page (R), the statement reads posted on Twitter reads: "The first image is a fake image circulating online. And the second image is the actual page A5 of Ta Kung Pao for today (July 8)."

The HKGCC also said in a statement published here that the image circulated in the social media posts was "a hoax".

The statement reads: "The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce wishes to clarify that it has not issued any advertisement in the Ta Kung Pao newspaper with regards to employment of graduates from the University of Hong Kong.

"The advertisement being circulated online and claiming to be a 'Solemn Statement' from the Chamber is a hoax."

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