A retired banker residing in Toronto was unexpectedly thrust into the center of a political controversy after being wrongly associated with the shooting of right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk on Wednesday. Michael Mallinson, aged 77, was caught off guard when he received a frantic call from his daughter at around 6 p.m., waking him from a nap. She urged him to remove his social media presence due to his name and image circulating online, falsely claiming he was the suspect in the shooting.
Mallinson, who has never visited Utah, expressed shock and dismay at being implicated in the incident. Kirk, a prominent right-wing figure and a key ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, was shot in Orem, Utah, around 12:20 p.m. local time, in what the state governor labeled a political assassination. However, no formal identification of the suspect has been made.
The false narrative suggesting Mallinson’s involvement seems to have originated from an account posing as a Nevada news channel, Fox Reno 11, which shared Mallinson’s photo alongside that of a person detained by police after Kirk’s shooting. The detained individual bore a resemblance to Mallinson, with similar attire and hairstyle from an old Twitter photo he believed he had deleted following the platform’s acquisition by Elon Musk.
Although the post linking Mallinson to the shooting has been removed, several other misleading posts have garnered significant attention online. Sinclair Broadcasting Group, the owner of the Fox channel, disclaimed the post and stated efforts were underway to have it removed. Craig Silverman, co-founder of Indicator, emphasized the ease with which misinformation can spread online and cautioned against premature conclusions based on unreliable information.
Mallinson recounted receiving negative messages on social media and expressed concern over the rapid dissemination of misinformation. He deactivated his accounts and his family alerted the Toronto Police Service about the situation. Mallinson described feeling violated by the incident, as he and his wife had to clarify the misunderstanding to their friends through emails.
The swift spread of misinformation alarmed Mallinson, who emphasized the need to wait for all details before drawing conclusions. The situation highlighted the vulnerability to false information in the digital age, underscoring the importance of verifying facts before reacting.