![\\"logo\\"](\\"/img/logo-dpa-factchecking.svg\\"/) *About ![\\"IFCN](\\"/img/ifcn-certificate.png\\"/) ![\\"EFCSN](\\"/img/efcsn- certificate.png\\"/) ## A motorist arrested # A news item in Uzbekistan diverted abroad Published on 2.10.2023, 17:26 (CEST) A video showing a car full of children quickly became viral on social networks. But the conclusions drawn by some Internet users based on these images are a little hasty. A Muslim driver was reportedly arrested in Uzbekistan while was transporting 25 children in a single car. This story is making the rounds social networks in several countries since the end of September 2023. On Facebook in particular, Internet users share a video in which we can see children packed into a car being taken care of by the forces of order. According to the publications, the driver admitted that the young passengers were intended to be “sold” as part of trafficking of children “for sexual purposes and organ removal”. But is it well what happened? ## Assessment There is no evidence that this event is linked to child trafficking. According to information relayed by the Uzbek Road Safety Service, the car in question was driven by a childcare worker employed in a kindergarten. ## Facts A reverse image search using screenshots from the video leads to several Uzbek media articles. These indicate that the video shows a case which took place in the district of Gijduvan, and that The images were released by the Uzbek Road Safety Service. A longer version was indeed put online on September 16, 2023 on YouTube. According to this one - translated by a Deutsche correspondent Presse-Agentur -, the person who was behind the wheel is a childcare worker working in a private kindergarten. Police officers saw the crowded vehicle and immediately arrested the driver. The articles of the Uzbek press state that she was busy bringing the children home them. According to the video from the Road Safety Service, the childcare worker ensured that it was the first time she had transported them in this way. There The police, however, insisted on the dangerousness of this act. We do not know what possible prosecution the childcare worker is exposed. Contrary to what is stated on Facebook, there is no mention part of child trafficking, nor of a Muslim driver who would have passed confession. Nothing therefore supports the version put forward by certain Internet users. (Situation as of 02.10.2023) ## Links Facebook posts I and II (archived versions I and II, archived video) Reverse image search (archived version) Articles from the Uzbek press I, II and III (archived versions I, II and III) Gijduvan on Google Maps (archived version) Press release from the Uzbek Road Safety Service (archived version) Road Safety Service YouTube video (archived version, video archived) ### About dpa fact checks This fact check was written as part of the independent program of Facebook/Meta check. More information about this program can be found here. To learn more about how Facebook/Meta manages accounts that spread misinformation, click here. If you have any objections or comments, please send them to the address factcheck-schweiz@dpa.com including a link to the publication Facebook concerned (see the model to use here). For more information on how to submit a correction or to dispute a review, please refer to this page. powered by dpa-newslab | Imprint | Privacy | About:
A Muslim driver was arrested while transporting 25 children to Uzbekistan for sex trafficking