Videos of woman in niqab telling police ‘you can’t arrest me’ are fake

Videos of a woman telling police officers “I’m Muslim, you can’t arrest me” are fake.

The clips, which have been shared on Facebook, show a woman wearing a niqab arguing with police in a supermarket, with an angry crowd of people behind them.

In one clip, the woman claims “I’m Muslim, you can’t arrest me”, to which the officer replies: “That’s not how it works. You’re under arrest for theft.”

The video ends with two women in niqabs being led away by a pair of police officers. A caption on all the posts says: “A shocking confrontation at a British supermarket has gone viral, capturing the moment security guards lost patience with a group of shoplifters who allegedly claimed their religious status made them immune to arrest.”

There are a number of clues that these videos are AI-generated. Most obviously, around four seconds into one video a police officer’s hat disappears from his head. Some of the faces of people in the background also appear distorted.

Another video features the same audio, but this time shows women in niqabs surrounded by different police officers in a supermarket. This clip features more obvious inconsistencies, including a female police officer at the start of the clip saying “I’m Muslim, you can’t arrest me”, and the sudden disappearance of several people.

A third clip features a similar scene, but with different audio and video. It also contains glitches, such as a woman disappearing into the person behind her.

Although several people commenting on the videos have pointed out they’re not real, others seem to believe otherwise, with one person commenting “Who the hell do these vile thieves think they are”, and another writing “Am very sure this isn't the first time they have stolen things”.

We have previously fact checked similar AI-generated videos and images showing women in niqabs being confronted by security guards in supermarkets.

Before sharing content like this it’s important to consider whether it comes from a trustworthy source. Our guide to spotting AI content can help you do this.