Claim
On 14th May 2026, a Facebook page called Zambian Affairz published a story with a headline, “Zambian Police Officers Forced to Kneel Down and Humiliated by Soldiers”.
The story, accompanied by a video, stated in full that “Residents of Chingola in Zambia’s Copperbelt Province were left shocked on today morning after a tense confrontation allegedly erupted between police officers and military personnel near the Chiwempala Market area.
According to eyewitnesses, the incident started after police officers attempted to stop a military truck carrying suspected smuggled fuel containers along the Chingola–Solwezi Road. The situation quickly escalated when heavily armed soldiers reportedly arrived at the scene and accused the officers of interfering with a “classified operation.”
Videos circulating on social media allegedly showed several police officers being forced to kneel on the roadside while angry soldiers shouted.”
The post further urged followers to watch the full version of the video using the link provided in the comments section. To protect visitors to our website from potential phishing or scam activity, and to avoid further fuelling the misinformation, iVerify Zambia has deliberately not included the circulating link in this fact check.
Verdict: False
The story and the video published by the Zambian Affairz Facebook page depicting a group of soldiers physically and verbally harassing a team of police officers are false. Several features observed in the video such as choreographed movements of the people and the voice are consistent with manipulated or AI generated content. Additionally, the Zambia Police Service stated that they have no record of such an incident and has dismissed the video and the accompanying story as false.
Rating Justification
iVerify Zambia has determined that the story and video published by the Zambian Affairz Facebook page are false.
An analysis of the video revealed that the movements of the individuals purported to be soldiers appear unusually synchronised with the narration or voice heard in the recording, the type of coordination that is consistent with a staged performance, drill, or manipulated production than with a spontaneous real-life situation of this nature.
The analysis further established that two individuals, one purported to be a soldier in the truck and another person on the ground, appear to be using the same voice. This is a further indication that the video is not authentic.
These findings were further amplified by the Zambia Police Service Spokesperson, Mr. Godfrey Chilabi, who, in an interview with iVerify Zambia, dismissed both the story and the video circulated by the Zambian Affairz Facebook page as false.
Mr. Chilabi described the video as AI-generated and intended to mislead the public. He said the gross misrepresentation of the Zambia police was evident in the uniform depicted in the video, emphasizing that the Zambia police uniforms do not have the words “Zambia Police” printed on the back.
Conclusion
The false story and the video highlight the harmful effects of misinformation, and generally information pollution, to credibility and image of governance institutions. Such content erodes public trust and creates contempt for public institutions. It is therefore important that AI, particularly deepfakes, and social media are used responsibly to ensure integrity in the information ecosystem and drive well-informed public discourse and development.
The incident also underscores the increasing threat posed by AI-generated content and deepfakes in the digital information ecosystem. It is therefore essential for individuals and online platforms to use emerging technologies responsibly and to verify information before sharing it, in order to promote informed public discourse and protect information integrity.
