Michael Mallinson , a 77-year-old retired banker from Toronto, was falsely accused online of being the shooter in the fatal attack on right-wing activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
In the chaotic aftermath, a photo of a man briefly detained by police at the campus began circulating online alongside a picture of Mallinson, claiming he was a registered Democrat from Utah and the shooter.
The posts went viral, reshared hundreds of times, despite no evidence linking Mallinson to the incident.
“I was shocked to see my name and face being spread online as the supposed shooter,” Mallinson told New York Times. “It’s alarming how quickly misinformation can spread.”
Following the false posts, his social media accounts, including an X profile, were scrutinised, with some users calling him a “liberal boomer lunatic,” a “far-left extremist,” and even claiming a “Ukrainian connection.”
The original rumour appears to have started from a fake X account named Fox 11 Reno, which has no affiliation with the Fox affiliate in Nevada.
Since the incident, Mallinson has deactivated his social media accounts and reported the false claims to local police. He is also considering legal action against those who circulated misinformation about him.
Mallinson, a father and patient advocate for Axial Spondyloarthritis, a rare form of arthritis he lives with, spent 35 years in banking before retiring in 2011.
In the chaotic aftermath, a photo of a man briefly detained by police at the campus began circulating online alongside a picture of Mallinson, claiming he was a registered Democrat from Utah and the shooter.
The posts went viral, reshared hundreds of times, despite no evidence linking Mallinson to the incident.
“I was shocked to see my name and face being spread online as the supposed shooter,” Mallinson told New York Times. “It’s alarming how quickly misinformation can spread.”
Following the false posts, his social media accounts, including an X profile, were scrutinised, with some users calling him a “liberal boomer lunatic,” a “far-left extremist,” and even claiming a “Ukrainian connection.”
The original rumour appears to have started from a fake X account named Fox 11 Reno, which has no affiliation with the Fox affiliate in Nevada.
Since the incident, Mallinson has deactivated his social media accounts and reported the false claims to local police. He is also considering legal action against those who circulated misinformation about him.
Mallinson, a father and patient advocate for Axial Spondyloarthritis, a rare form of arthritis he lives with, spent 35 years in banking before retiring in 2011.
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