AN image showing Nigerian entertainer Iweh Pascal Odinaka, popularly known as Poco Lee, standing inside a UK court during his trial has surfaced on social media, with a claim suggesting that the footage shows his first court appearance.
The claim was posted by a verified X user, @razorblade300, with the caption:
“Pray for Poco Lee, it’s not looking good for him 😭😭💔🙏 Poco Lee makes his FIRST APPEARANCE at the Snaresbrook Crown Court Uk 🇬🇧 for his trial. Poco Lee has pleaded not guilty. The case is currently going on and we will update you guys. Pray for POCO 🙏”
The post has generated over 96,000 views, and more than 260 likes.
An X user @jorubiang3422 even commented under the post that “he is having a great time at court” due to the attire and his expression.
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CLAIM
Image shows Poco Lee making his first court appearance at Snaresbrook Crown Court in the UK.
FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is MISLEADING.
The FactCheckHub traced the original image of Poco Lee used in the clip to an earlier social media post published by Pocolee himself on his Instagram page on 13 August 2026. The original photograph shows Poco Lee standing outdoor near a waterfront structure, wearing the exact same red Gucci t-shirt, cap, and sunglasses seen in the claim.
This means that the figure was digitally extracted from the original background and placed into a courtroom setting.
A forensic analysis of the image using Hive Moderation, a detector tool, returned a 74.7% likelihood that the imagery is deepfake or digitally manipulated.
Further examination of the clip showed characteristics consistent with AI-generated imagery, including distorted facial features on background figures, irregular judicial emblems, and unnatural lighting, indicating that the courtroom scene depicted alongside Poco Lee is not real but digitally composite.
The ICIR reported that legal proceedings against Poco Lee are currently active at Snaresbrook Crown Court in London following allegations of sexual offences.
Following proceedings on Tuesday, 15 September 2026, the court fixed 8 February 2027 for his plea hearing, with his trial scheduled to commence on 8 March 2027.
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However, under Section 41 of the UK Criminal Justice Act 1925, photography and video recording inside UK courtrooms are strictly prohibited.
The image therefore does not provide evidence that Poco Lee was filmed during a court appearance as suggested by the social media post.
VERDICT
The claim that the video shows Poco Lee during a court appearance in the UK is MISLEADING. The footage has been digitally manipulated to create a deepfake courtroom scene.
Seasoned writer and literary curator, Zainab Abdulrasaq is a factchecker for The FactCheckHub in an effort to combat information disorder. She can be reached on IG @blackbookishgirl or zabdulrasaq@icirnigeria.org
