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False claims that pets can receive a Hong Kong identity card have gained traction across social media.
Photo: Pubity, via Instagram.
A post with almost a million Likes on Pubity’s Instagram page erroneously claimed: “In Hong Kong, pets can receive their own ID, created to support animal welfare, reduce abandonment, and ensure they remain linked to their families.”
Photo: Acclaimedwrld, via Instagram.
Other entertainment platforms such as Complex and Acclaimedwrld also picked up the story.
A novelty pet ID card featuring the HKFP news hound, Pixel. Photo: HKFP.
The novelty cards – which hold no official authority – are produced by several local vendors, including NGO the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).
Tom founded Hong Kong Free Press in 2015 as the city's first crowdfunded newspaper. He has a BA in Communications and New Media from Leeds University and an MA in Journalism from the University of Hong Kong. He previously founded an NGO advocating for domestic worker rights, and has contributed to the BBC, Deutsche Welle, Al-Jazeera and others.
Tom leads HKFP – raising funds, managing the team and navigating risk – whilst regularly speaking on press freedom, ethics and media funding at industry events, schools and conferences around the world.
