The violence in Sweden enraged social media users across the globe. In a strong message attacking 'liberalism’, users shared a collage of injured women, supposedly assaulted during the unrest in Malmo city.
However, this collage of 16 women has been shared over the years as assault on women, with different claims. These photos are actually from unrelated incidences, mostly from the United States or United Kingdom.
CLAIM
Sweden was besieged with violence when anti-immigration far-right activists burnt the Quran, sparking protests.
In a similar vein, the collage of injured women was shared along with pictures of the city on fire, with the message:
"This is what liberalism can lead us to. Killing the self esteem in natives can only help the invaders to come in as refugees. If it hpns, just wait for their right moment to kill us. Sweden is another eg. They allowed jehadis come in as refugees and now natives r getting killed.(sic)"
The Quint has blurred the original image in the tweets due to its graphic nature.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
The images of the 16 women are not from Sweden and belong to old, unrelated incidents mostly from US or UK.
Mimikama, an Austrian-based fact-checking website had earlier debunked the origins of the collage, when it was shared as victims of assault in Germany.
The incidents occurring in the years 2009 to 2016, range from domestic violence to random ambushes for burglary or assault.
One woman (in the collage), identified as Christina West from Florida, US, is a victim of police brutality, as reported by Daily Mail. Her arrest for driving under influence turned violent, resulting in the bruises on her face.
Several pictures show victims of ambush in England.
Another woman has been identified as Helen Greaves who was attacked by a group of 10 men. One of the women is Mary Brandon who was assaulted for confronting a man who groped her. Amy Rae Ferris was beaten up for carrying a large amount of cash on her, and a 70-year-old woman was assaulted during a hand-bag robbery.
The collage also shows pictures of Rebecca Beattie from England and Emily McCaffery from USA, both victims of domestic abuse.
One of the photos, is actually of man, identified as Paul Kohler, who was mugged at his house in Wimbledon, London.
Another picture has been taken from Dublin-based author, Roddy Doyle's book, The Woman Who Walked Into Doors, which explores the lives of victims of domestic abuse.
The collage is evidently of unrelated incidents and does not show victims of the recent violence in Sweden.
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