Video shows toy drive, not human trafficking sting
Social media posts are claiming to show a video of a Coca-Cola delivery truck "full of kids" stopped in the US state of Illinois for illegal human trafficking. This is false; the clip is from a toy drive supported by a police association in neighboring Iowa, and the department confirmed that there is no ongoing criminal investigation at the site.
"Coca Cola Truck full of kids found!" says a December 16, 2024 Instagram post with more than 190,000 likes.
In the post, the user claims the video was shot in Cicero, Illinois, and that it shows local police emptying a truck that had been unlawfully transporting children.
The same video and false claim have circulated elsewhere on Instagram, X, Facebook, Threads, TikTok, Bluesky, YouTube, Rumble and Gettr -- including in Spanish and French.
The user -- who also runs a TikTok account under the name FamousCooleyCarter -- posted a day later saying the initial claims of child trafficking were incorrect, but that police had found two children in the truck abandoned by a woman in Decatur, Illinois.
Both claims of child trafficking and child abandonment are false.
In part of the video, a branch of the US tire retailer Firestone can be seen behind the Coca-Cola delivery vehicle and police cruisers.
A keyword search for "Firestone" and "Coca-Cola Truck" reveals a local news article about a December 14 toy drive run by a local police association in Davenport, Iowa, where residents were encouraged to donate gifts for children and families in need (archived here).
The event occurred in the NorthPark Mall parking lot near a Firestone and JC Penney branch in Davenport.
Owen Farrell, a spokesman for the Davenport Police Department, said the video was shot during the Iowa toy drive on December 18. He said there was "no criminal investigation" at the site and that claims about the footage showing human trafficking or child abandonment were "false" and "fake news."
Farrell also said the drive has taken place in the same mall parking lot for 22 years.
The police posted multiple photos on the department's Facebook page during and after the event, showing the Coca-Cola truck -- from a local beverage distributor sponsoring the drive -- and police cruisers in the same location.
Google Maps street view imagery taken in June 2021 near the Davenport Firestone branch also shows the same buildings, traffic lights and infrastructure as in the video posted on social media (archived here).
The Decatur, Illinois Police Department's daily bulletin also shows no arrests for child abandonment, endangerment or similar charges between December 14 and December 18 at 1930 GMT (archived here).
AFP contacted the Decatur Police Department, but the office declined to comment.
AFP has debunked other false claims about people trafficking.
