Disinformation about the Reasons why the German Police Removed a Child from a Family

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On April 29, 2023, a Georgian-language Facebook user published a video showing police taking a crying child out of a house while women wearing headscarves try to resist them. The people shown in the video speak German. According to the description, the video shows the removal of the youngest son from the family by social services in the German city of Bremerhaven, which was caused by the school’s statement that the boy was taught by the family that Islam does not accept “homosexuality and transgenderism.” According to the author, because of the above-mentioned pretext, the court deprived the family of its rights and transferred the child to social protection.

An identical video with a similar description was published by the Georgian-language Facebook page “Gala” on April 30. The post mentions that Putin saved Georgia and Ukraine from “this kind of depravity.”

The claim that the police in Germany took a child from his family because he was taught that homosexuality and transgenderism were unacceptable on religious grounds is false. The video indeed shows Bremerhaven police; however, after the video went viral, the police released a statement saying that the video’s description of the reason for the operation was not true. The police do not disclose additional details about the incident due to the protection of the rights of the family and the child.

In the video, the conversation is being held in German. One of the women who tries to resist the police says that the boy has epileptic seizures and the police action could harm him; the police officer explains to her that the decision has been made by the court and they are following the court’s order.

The video was posted on Twitter on April 28, 2023, with the description that the child was being taken from the family by the police and child protective services due to an ideological difference, because he was taught that homosexuality and transgenderism are not acceptable to Islam.

Bremerhaven police responded to the video the same day. According to their comments, they were aware of the video and would further examine it.

On April 29, 2023, Bremerhaven Police issued a statement saying that the circulated video showed a joint operation between Bremerhaven Police and Children’s Social Services, although the video’s description of the reasons for the operation was false. The statement mentions that the operation was carried out on the basis of the court’s decision, and the transfer of the child to the care of the social service is the last resort, which is applied only in case of serious reasons. According to the police statement, in order to protect the family and the child, they cannot release more detailed information about what happened, and the public is urged to refrain from spreading false information. In addition to the police website, the mentioned statement was also published on their Twitter and Instagram accounts.

Noteworthy that the post published on Twitter, which was responded to by the Bremerhaven police, also features a context note by the users of the online platform, according to which the child was not removed from the family because of “religious opposition to gender ideology” and the real reason for this was an investigation into possible violence against a minor. The explanation included a link to an article by Jordanian media outlet Roya News, which said a neighbor of the family, who often heard the child’s screams, had complained to the police. According to the article, an investigation into possible child abuse is ongoing and until its completion, the minor will be under the supervision of state services. This information has not been confirmed by official sources.

About the Source

The Georgian-language Facebook account “Nin Khundadze”[Ин Хундадзе], which disseminated the video with a false description, is a supporter of the pro-Kremlin “Conservative Movement” party and its affiliate television, Alt-Info. Mentioned Facebook user has disseminated disinformation a number of times in the past. The user also has another account with an identical profile and cover photo – ნინი ხუნდაძე [Nini Khundadze].


The article has been written in the framework of Facebook’s fact-checking program. You can read more about the restrictions that Facebook may impose based on this article via this link. You can find information about appealing or editing our assessment via this link.

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Country: Germany
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