Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, is accused of shooting Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump from the roof of a building during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, injuring the former president's right ear. One spectator died and two others were seriously injured.
However, many conspiracy theories and false information about this incident are spreading online.
Donald Trump was assassinated in Butler, Pennsylvania, USA, on July 13. Photo: Reuters
Italian journalist named as suspect
Just hours after the shooting, images of a man wearing a black sweatshirt, hat and dark sunglasses emerged online. Social media posts identified the man as Mark Violets, a member of the “antifa extremist group,” who has been named by local police as a suspect in the assassination.
However, the man in the photo is Marco Violi, who had nothing to do with the shooting. Violi is actually an Italian sports journalist who covers the Italian soccer team AC Roma.
Violi said he was in Rome at the time of the incident and woke up at 2am to a flurry of messages. He also insisted he had nothing to do with the incident.
Violi wasn’t the only person misidentified after the shooting. Viral posts also misidentified another man, Maxwell Yearick, as the shooter. In 2016, various media outlets reported that Yearick was arrested outside a Trump rally in Pittsburgh after a confrontation with police.
Misrepresenting the suspect as Chinese
The Asian American community also reacted angrily to a report that the shooter was Chinese. The New York Post initially reported that the shooter was “identified as a Chinese man.” More than an hour later, the site reported that the shooter was “identified as a white male.”
"These reporters have done further harm to the Chinese-American community by irresponsibly reporting falsely that the alleged gunman was Chinese," said Gary Locke, former US ambassador to China.
Meanwhile, New York State Assembly member Grace Lee said: "False and reckless reporting like this will continue to fuel hatred and violence against the Asian community. The New York Post must apologize for this mistake and do better to ensure accurate reporting."
Editing photos to promote assassination conspiracy theories
In the immediate aftermath of the assassination, photoshopped images emerged online of Trump and Secret Service agents smiling after Trump was shot in the right ear. The fake images were shared to support claims that the assassination was “staged” as a ploy to boost Trump’s popularity ahead of the November election.
The original photos, taken by an Associated Press photographer, show Mr Trump and the agents looking serious.
Hoai Phuong (according to Reuters, SCMP)
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/nhung-thong-tin-sai-lech-ve-vu-am-sat-ong-trump-post303582.html
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