FACT CHECK: Viral post claiming arrest for Kansas City community service found to be false

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - A viral social media post is making the rounds about a man who was recently arrested in Swope Park for an act of community service - there’s only one problem: it’s not true. Kansas City leaders are now warning you to be careful when it comes to news posted to social media.

KCTV5 came across the social media post Friday afternoon and immediately reached out to both the Kansas City Police Department and the City Mayor’s Office to find out if the claims were true. Later Friday, a city spokesperson confirmed the entire post was false.

Kansas City is aware of a viral TikTok video claiming that a man named Andre Tillman was arrested in Swope Park for replacing lights using a borrowed cherry picker. This claim is entirely false.

The post also claimed that Tillman was arrested after a city worker spotted the “unauthorized installation.”

The Kansas City Police Department has confirmed that no such arrest was made. There was not even a report of an incident in the area that matched the description.

In the wake of the post, for the false claim led to the activation of three GoFundMe campaigns. One is posted by an individual who claims to be Tillman’s wife. A second looks like it comes from Tillman himself. And then a third, which had raised almost $200, its the original post was made up.

Now, full transparency: Andre Tillman is not a real person. He exists purely in pixels, satire, and the hearts of those who believe in rogue justice. This whole thing is about showing how AI can be brought to life. So if you still want to donate, the GoFundMe will go toward helping us make more chaos like this — new stories, more satire, and even better fake city council footage. Your helps us continue making weird, joyful, hyper-believable stories that blur the line between civic chaos and comedy.

All three campaigns have since been taken down. GoFundMe tells KCTV5 that’s because they violated the of Service.

“Our team acted quickly to remove the fundraisers and refund the $195 raised back to donors,” said a GoFundMe spokesperson.

GoFundMe offers a full refund through its Giving Guarantee in case its team finds something wrong with a campaign.

The public has been encouraged to information they find on social media through official sources and to be cautious of this type of content.

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