Videos falsely claiming to show a Chinese military crackdown against pro-democracy
protesters in Hong Kong have flooded social media over the past week, according to an AFP investigation that has debunked multiple posts.
The videos, which have been viewed millions of times, have compounded fears about China's potential intervention into a two-month crisis that has seen increasingly violent confrontations between protesters and Hong Kong's police.
Some of the false posts appeared shortly after a Chinese defence ministry spokesman last week highlighted during a press conference a law that allows troops to be deployed across Hong Kong at the request of the city's government.