The van was spotted in Belfast city centre.
The billboard.
PSNI officers have been pictured putting a stop to a mobile digital billboard promoting a fictional “Fenian Hotline” in Belfast on Thursday afternoon.
The Belfast Telegraph understands that the vehicle and its message have links to the Irish-language rap trio Kneecap.
The billboard carried a single instruction to “REPORT FENIAN ACTIVITY” and also directed the public to a freephone line.
Callers to the number can hear a short recorded message and are then invited to leave their own “report”.
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As the vehicle moved through the city, it drew attention from passers-by, with people stopping to photograph the message and share it, before it was shut down by the police.
The freephone number 0800 955 1916 pays homage to the 1916 Easter Rising, in which a secret organisation of Irish nationalists launched an armed uprising against British rule during Easter Week in Dublin.
The vehicle and billboard also made its way around west Belfast, with Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly stopping to get a photo with it.
“Funny thing happened to me on the way to work today,” he posted on Facebook.
“Anybody who needs to report me, the number is on the side of the lorry”
While the organisers of the ‘fenian hotline’ are not being disclosed at this stage, a statement from the anonymous group said that they “can confirm the activity is legal, time-limited, and forms part of a wider public-facing creative project that will be revealed next week”.
The van was spotted in Belfast city centre.
News Catch Up – Thursday 22 January
“Until then, the hotline remains live,” they added.
The PSNI have been contacted for comment.