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Spot The Difference : Hong Kong vs George Floyd Protestors!

Spot The Difference : HK vs George Floyd Protestors!

Can you Spot The Difference between the Hong Kong and the George Floyd protestors in the US?

Take a look, and see if you can spot the difference… and what the facts really are!

 

Spot The Difference : Hong Kong vs George Floyd Protestors!

Controversial Christian pastor Rev. Patrick Mahoney waded into the Hong Kong and George Floyd protests, with two tweets on the same day.

The next day, this post started going viral on Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp, asking you to spot the difference between the two Patrick Mahoney tweets.

 

Hong Kong vs George Floyd Protestors : The Facts!

Fact #1 : Patrick Mahoney Posted Those Tweets, But With Different Photos

Reverend Patrick Mahoney posted those two tweets, on the same day – May 28, 2020. However, the actual tweets had completely different pictures.

In his tweet on the Hong Kong protestors, he posted a picture of Hong Kong police officers arresting unarmed protestors.

In his tweet on the George Floyd protests, the picture was of riot control police on a rooftop.

Fact #2 : Patrick Mahoney Did Not Sanction Violence

In both tweets – Patrick Mahoney did not sanction violence.

In fact, his actual tweet on the George Floyd protest in Minneapolis could be referring to violence by both the police and the protestors.

Fact #3 : The Protestor Picture Was From 2016

Whoever created that post intentionally replaced the picture Patrick Mahoney posted with this Getty photo that Lam Yik Fei took on the night of 9 February 2016.

As you can see, it’s radically different – showing violence – whereas the picture Mahoney posted showed Hong Kong police officers arresting non-violent protestors.

HONG KONG – FEBRUARY 09: Rioters throw bricks at police in Mong Kok district of Hong Kong on February 9, 2016 in Hong Kong. More than 40 police officers and journalists have been injured after a riot with protesters on the first day of Chinese New Year celebrations. (Photo by Lam Yik Fei/Getty Images)

Fact #4 : Injustice Started + Fuelled Both Protests

Discounting the violence, both Hong Kong and George Floyd protests started because of injustice. In both cases, the people are demanding change.

The people in Hong Kong have been protesting for years over the systematic erosion of their Basic Rights and freedoms.

The most recent May 2020 protest was triggered by the proposal of new national security laws that would allow Chinese security forces to operate within Hong Kong.

In the United States, it was the racism that black Americans have endured, triggered by the death of George Floyd after a white police officer kneeled on his neck for almost 9 minutes.

Fact #5 : Protests Are Allowed In The US And Hong Kong

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution specifically gives all American citizens have the right to assemble and demonstrate peacefully :

Congress shall make no law … abiding … the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Hong Kong citizens also have the right to peacefully assemble and protest, under Article 27 of the Basic Law, and Article 17 of the Bill of Rights.

The right of peaceful assembly shall be recognised. No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other than those imposed in conformity with the law and which are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or public safety, public order, the protection of public health or morals or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.

In other words – people have the right to assemble and demonstrate in both the United States and Hong Kong. They just do not have the right to attack people, or destroy property.

Fact #6 : Patrick Mahoney Is Nobody

Patrick Mahoney is a self-aggrandising Christian pastor with a history of publicity stunts. But in the grand scheme of things – he is nobody.

He is not a representative of the American people, or the American government. Yet, his two tweets are being misused by Chinese and pro-Chinese netizens (and bots) to spread the narrative of American hypocrisy.

Ironically, this misleading Spot The Difference post is being shared on Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp – platforms which are banned in China. That is really the true hypocrisy of this storm in a teacup.

 

Watch Out For Other Fake US Protest Pictures + Videos!

This misleading post is part of a slew of similar fake news about the George Floyd protests in the US :

So beware of similar fake posts, because they appear to be part of disinformation campaigns.

 

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