What was claimed
A video compilation shows police officers tackling scooter thieves in London.
Our verdict
These clips are fake. They feature a number of visual inconsistencies that indicate they’ve been generated using AI.
A video compilation showing police officers tackling “scooter thieves” has gone viral on social media, but it’s completely fake.
The series of clips show masked figures riding on e-scooters and e-bikes being tackled or kicked to the ground by police officers. Overlaid text on the video says: “UK Police are NOT playing”.
A caption on one post says: “A dramatic scene in the middle of London as police officers reportedly tackled suspected scooter thieves during an apparent pursuit.”
These clips are not real. There are a number of visual inconsistencies in them that indicate they were generated using Artificial Intelligence (AI) such as nonsensical traffic lights. Several feature text that is gibberish, including on police cars and road markings, and in one of the clips a leg unattached to a body can be seen on a scooter.
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While many of those commenting on the posts have recognised the clips are AI-generated, others appear not to be aware they’re not real.
Before sharing content like this that you come across online, it’s important to consider whether it comes from a trustworthy and verifiable source. Our Full Fact toolkit and guides to spotting AI-generated images and videos can help you do this.
