Claim: A CCTV video shows an armed robbery averted after the shopkeeper’s daughter offers the robber a lollipop.
Fact: The viral video does not depict real events; our investigation suggests that it is scripted.
On 17 November, a video showing an armed robbery attempt was shared widely online. It shows a robber slapping the shopkeeper and then grabbing the valuables. As he is about to leave, a young girl, allegedly the shopkeeper’s daughter, offers him a lollipop. Upon seeing this, the robber returns the valuables, pats and kisses the girl on the head, and leaves the shop empty-handed.
Geo News also shared the video on Instagram, writing:
“A viral CCTV video from an unknown location in Pakistan shows how an armed robbery was unexpectedly averted by a small child’s innocent gesture. The footage captures a shopkeeper and his young daughter, aged around 4 or 5, when an armed robber storms in, demands money and the shopkeeper’s phone.
In an unexpected twist, the child offers the robber her lollipop, causing his demeanor to soften. The man returns the stolen items, shows affection to the girl, and leaves without causing harm.
𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗲: 𝗜𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗱. 𝗔𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲, 𝗶𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗶𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝘀.
#GeoNews”
Fact or Fiction?
Considering the note under Geo News’ post and the suspicions expressed by users in the comments, Soch Fact Check suspected that the video is likely scripted.
A reverse-search of keyframes from the viral clip mostly led to results that reiterated the viral claim except one video. Shared by the YouTube channel Kamran Team Official on 16 November 2025, it was the only post we found that appeared without the claim, and it was published online a day before the rest of the posts we came across. The video was titled “ڈاکو کا دل پگھل گیا #shortsfeed #shortsviral #kamranteamofficial” [Translation: The robber’s heart melted.]
However, according to the description of the video, it shows a staged event. Precisely, it stated:
“This video is a staged video and the people appearing in it are actually drama characters (actors), and the weapons shown in this video are fake.
The purpose of this video is absolutely not to hurt anyone’s feelings.
This video does not represent any person or any institution.
This video is only for entertainment purposes.
Thank you.”
Soch Fact Check reviewed other videos on the channel and found that most of them are scripted CCTV-style clips, ranging from humour to social messaging. Most importantly, we found that the same actors appear in several other videos on the channel.
This indicated that the viral video is also staged and originated from this YouTube channel. The absence of other results from the reverse-search and the fact the YouTube post predates the claim also strongly suggests that this may be the case.
Virality
The claim was shared here, here, here, here, here, and here on Facebook. Archived here, here, here, here, here, and here.
On Instagram, it was shared here, here, here, here, here, and here. Archived here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Conclusion: The viral video does not depict real events.
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Background image in cover photo: File photo
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