Hubei Driver Falsely Declared Dead in Viral Hoax
Bastillepost · 1 SOURCESabout 1 hour ago2 MIN
Summary
A ride-hailing driver surnamed Zeng in Hubei reported to police after discovering that footage of him resting in his vehicle had been edited into a viral “sudden death” video. Police said the clip falsely combined his image with ambulance and airport police footage, and later fined two internet users for fabricating and spreading the rumor .
Key Points
- Zeng went to the Public Area Police Station under the Airport Public Security Bureau of Hubei Provincial Public Security Department at about 11am on August 4 to file a report .
- He said he had simply been resting in his car at the ride-hailing pick-up area of Wuhan Tianhe Airport’s transport center when the false death claim appeared online .
- Investigators found that the video stitched together footage of Zeng, ambulance scenes and airport police on duty, while adding mourning music and captions claiming a ride-hailing driver had died suddenly .
- Police said Hubei internet user Feng first downloaded the resting footage from a WeChat group, edited it, and posted it on Douyin to attract attention and followers .
- Another internet user, Qiao, reposted the clip and wrote in the comments that “Master Zeng has passed away,” helping the rumor spread further before both were fined 500 yuan and 200 yuan respectively on August 7 .
Why It Matters
The case shows how quickly manipulated short videos can damage an ordinary person’s reputation and alarm family and friends before facts are checked . For Hong Kong readers, it is a reminder that emotionally edited clips circulating in chat groups or social platforms may combine unrelated footage and false captions to manufacture a convincing but entirely fabricated incident .