Hong Kong official shares fake photo of beaten-up cop

Hong Kong official shares fake photo of beaten-up cop

In response to Wednesday's news that Hong Kong police allegedly beat a pro-democracy protester, Hong Kong's top media official decided to remind people of the other side of the story. The problem? His story was fake.

Andrew Fung, media adviser to Leung Chun-ying, Hong Kong's leader whom the protesters have asked to resign, posted a photo to his Facebook account Wednesday allegedly depicting a cop who had been beaten in a clash with protesters and was covered in blood.

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"Everybody who uses violence is wrong," Fung allegedly wrote on his Facebook page. "If the police get hurt, you should have sympathy. The idea of democracy includes love."

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What the pro-democracy side didn't love, though, is that the photo wasn't from a clash with protesters at all — it was a still from a new TV show, Night Shift, featuring a zombie cop. HKTV, the network that will air Night Shift, confirmed Wednesday that the photo was from the show.

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Meghan DeMaria

Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.