Photo of 'British police kneeling' before Muslim men is AI-generated

What is the claim?

Multiple social media users have posted a photo purportedly showing a group of police officers kneeling before some men dressed in attire including skull caps traditionally worn by Muslims. 

An X (formerly Twitter) user posted the viral photo and wrote, "Is there anything in Great Britain that can still surprise us 🤬⁉️" At the time of writing, the post had garnered over 129,000 views and more than 1800 likes. It is archived here.

A social media user on Facebook also shared this viral photo and captioned the photo as, "How long Do you think the British police will continue to bow to Islam and keep arresting the British people under orders from the labour government.. labelling patriots, veterans and the average British citizen as far right is an utter disgrace… we all have legitimate concerns about their rights and safety within our country and demand change now 🤬" The archived versions of some such posts are here, here, and here.

Screenshots of a couple of the posts. (Source: X/Facebook/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, upon investigation, we found that the viral image was not real and was generated using artificial intelligence (AI).

What are the facts?

We found no news reports about any such incident in London, indicating that the photo likely did not depict a genuine incident.

Further, upon closer inspection of these photos, we noticed several discrepancies and irregularities in the bodies of the individuals seen in the viral photo. 

The physical features of the police officers appeared to be visually distorted and unnatural. Amorphous blob-like shapes can be seen in place of fully formed fingers and visible hands. The limbs of the officers on the left side of the viral image also appear awkwardly and improperly aligned, making it difficult to determine which officer they belong to. These are generally signs of the usage of AI.

Some discrepancies in the viral photo can be seen in the men kneeling. (Source: Facebook/Modified by Logically Facts)

Additionally, the individual dressed in a white skull cap in black and white attire, positioned on the extreme right, shows a slightly elongated and irregular thumb. Further, the facial features of several other individuals standing beside him also appear distorted and unnatural, which is also a sign of AI usage.

Other discrepancies in the viral photo. (Source: Facebook/Modified by Logically Facts)

What did AI detection tools say?

Moreover, we analyzed the viral image using several online tools designed to detect AI-generated content. Hive Moderation identified a 99.8 percent likelihood that that image likely contained AI-generated or deepfake content. Similarly, Illuminarty AI estimated a 77.3 percent probability, while Hugging Face assessed an 85 percent possibility of the image being AI-generated. 

 Screenshots of the results from tools that examined the image (Source: Hive Moderation/Illuminarty AI/Hugging Face/Modified by Logically Facts)

The irregularities and the findings from the AI-detection tools led Logically Facts to conclude that the photo was not genuine. Furthermore, we could not find any confirmed source or the image's origin.

What is the origin of the image?

An X account known for spreading misinformation appeared to be one of the first users to post (archived here) this image on August 15, 2024. However, in this case, the user stated that the image was AI-generated and wrote, "How AI sees London." The post was later deleted. 

This was then picked up by other X accounts, including Paul Golding, a co-leader of the far-right political group Britain First (archived here), who captioned the photo as "This image reflects current policing strategy perfectly." However, this account refrained from mentioning that the image was AI-generated.

United Kingdom riots 

According to the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC), more than 1,000 people have been arrested following the public disorder that started with the killing of three young girls in Southport, U.K., on July 29, 2024. A total of 677 people have been charged.  

The verdict

The viral image showing several police officers kneeling before Muslim men is not genuine. Our investigation indicates that the image was created using artificial intelligence.