A widely shared video on X, formerly Twitter, claims that British police demanded a teenage girl hand over her phone after she viewed a social media post.
According to the West Midlands police, the force involved, the video is misleading and heavily edited, and no such demand was made in the manner portrayed.
Newsweek contacted West Midlands police by email and phone for comment on Sunday.
The video has garnered a lot of attention online with over 3.5 million views. British far-right activist Tommy Robinson responded to the video on X, saying: "Starmer's regime send what appears to be sharia police to threaten to take a lady's daughter into custody if she doesn't hand over her phone. The child's 'crime'? Looking at a social media post! This is England 2025."
One of the officers in the video footage is wearing a headscarf.
The video caption calls the police the "British gestapo." However, in a statement, West Midlands police have described the video as "heavily edited" and "misleading."
According to trending posts on X, "two West Midlands Police officers visited a family home in England on Saturday to seize a young girl's smartphone because she viewed a social media post from May that she neither shared nor liked.
"The officers entered without a warrant, claiming the need to describe evidence, but the mother refused and challenged the action. Legal experts have raised concerns about potential violations of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act amid UK initiatives under the Online Safety Act to monitor online activity."
The video shows two female police officers speaking to the mother of the child at the front door before entering the property. One of the officers says they need the child's phone otherwise, they "will escalate this further." The mother is heard protesting at the officer's presence and reasons for being there.
West Midlands Police have said the notion that they're investigating a child for simply viewing a social media post is "completely incorrect."
West Midlands police, in a statement: "We are aware of reports that we are investigating a child for viewing a social media post. This is completely incorrect.
"We are investigating after a complaint from a member of the public that a fake social media account had been created in their name and had been used to send indecent messages.
"The offence being investigated is one of malicious communications - sending indecent or grossly offensive communication to cause distress or anxiety. The messages are of an incredibly serious nature and have caused serious concern for the victim.
"Officers made a number of attempts to speak to a suspect, a teenage girl, at her home address in Walsall earlier this month as part of the investigation.
"On 13 September, we spoke to the girl's mother at her home and explained we needed to speak to her daughter and recover her mobile phone as part of the investigation. The following day, the girl attended a police station for a voluntary interview, and the investigation continues.
"We are aware of a brief and heavily edited video clip showing part of the 13 September visit. The clip is misleading, and we have reviewed a 10-minute body worn video recording showing the full exchange."
West Midlands Police are set to continue to investigate the matter, focusing on the malicious communications offense linked to the alleged fake social media account.