Michael Mallinson’s photo circulated online last night after right wing influencer Charlie Kirk was shot dead in Utah.
He quickly received a worried call from his daughter, who explained he was being wrongly accused as the shooter – despite being in Toronto at the time the trigger was pulled.
Michael described his “shock” at the false identification and explained how the intense media attention forced him to take down his social media profiles.
Speaking to the New York Times, the 77-year-old said the speed at which misinformation spread about him was alarming: “I’m just shocked by it. How quickly it can happen, how one’s name and photo can get spread around quite quickly.”
The mix up was due to his likeliness to a man who has briefly detained by the police after the shooting. The man arrested at the scene was later released and the shooter is currently still at large, with a manhunt underway.
via Charles McClintock-Wilson/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock
FBI Director Kash Patel explained on X how an earlier “subject” who was being questioned has since been released.
He wrote: “The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement. Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency.”
A total of two people were questioned by authorities in the aftermath of the shooting, but have since been released.
via X
However, just one mistake was enough to set off thousands of posts claiming Michael was the suspect accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk during the political event at Utah college campus.
The detainment of one man at the scene was widely photographed and videoed online, with the individual having a similar likeliness to Michael.
However, it was a fake news account on X that initially and incorrectly identified the suspect as the the retired banker from Canada.
Others were quick to reshare the claim about Michael, wrongly citing “Fox” as their source. Despite being Canadian and being in Toronto at the time of the shooting, Michael was labelled as a registered Democrat from Utah who had shot and killed Mr. Kirk and users on X branded him a “far left extremist” and “Pure evil.”
Users online also contacted Mr Mallinson via Facebook, which led to him taking down his profiles from all social media. Now working as a patient advocate for a rare and painful form of arthritis, Michael worries this will affect his work as he uses socials to connect with patients worldwide.
The abuse has been reported to local police by Michael, who added he may consider suing people or websites who circulated the falsehood if false claims continue.
He added: “I would expect, because the news cycle moves so quickly, that it will blow over soon. But there’s always a chance that some idiots somewhere will get hold of this information a few months from now and start making noise about it.”
Featured image via X and via Charles McClintock-Wilson/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock
