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This image shows a South Korean film released in 2007 -- it was not taken in Myanmar
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on February 23, 2021 at 10:30
- 2 min read
- By AFP Myanmar
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The photo was published on Twitter here on February 21, 2021.
The post’s Burmese-language caption translates to English as: “The inhumane acts by the military dictators today. During the violent crackdown that happened on Kannar Road in Mandalay this evening, [the forces] fired their snipers not only at protesters but also at social workers. The injured and dead people were pulled onto the police truck.”
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The post circulated online one day after two people, including a teenager, were shot by security forces during a crackdown on anti-coup protesters in Mandalay on February 20, 2021. AFP reported on the violence here.
The same image was also shared alongside a similar claim on Twitter here, here, and here and on TikTok here.
The claim, however, is false.
A reverse Google image search found the photo was published on a website called Asian Wiki blog here. The post is about a Korean film released in 2007 titled “May 18”.
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“May 18” details the Gwangju Uprising, which began on May 18, 1980 and resulted in several days of deadly clashes between anti-martial law protesters and security forces in the South Korean city of Gwangju.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the image in the misleading tweet (L) and the Asian Wiki blog image (R):
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The image from the “May 18” film was also published on a Polish movie database site here.
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