"Zoom in: Mustapha Kharbouch was never named by police as a suspect in the shooting that killed two Brown students, including the vice president of the college Republican Club. But he was targeted online after his student profile disappeared from the university's website - a move MAGA-aligned accounts seized on as supposed evidence of a cover-up. Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said Tuesday there were many reasons the pages could have been taken down - including to prevent doxxing -"
"Popular right-wing figures and large anonymous accounts cast Kharbouch's identity - Palestinian, openly queer and outspoken on Gaza - as inherently suspicious. Some accounts even cited amateur "gait analysis" of Kharbouch at a pro-Palestinian protest as supposed evidence that he was the shooter, alleging he was a product of campus extremism. "The past few days have been an unimaginable nightmare," Kharbouch said in a statement. "I woke up Tuesday morning to unfounded, vile, Islamophobic, and anti-Palestinian accusations being directed toward me online.""
Speculation and ideological narratives fuel rapid spread of false claims while corrections rarely reach the same audience. Mustapha Kharbouch was never named by police as a suspect in the shooting that killed two Brown students but faced intense online targeting after his student profile disappeared from the university website. Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha noted pages can be removed for many reasons, including to prevent doxxing, and warned that online vigilantes were on a "really dangerous road." Right-wing figures and anonymous accounts amplified suspicion by noting Kharbouch's Palestinian identity, queerness, and Gaza advocacy and by citing amateur "gait analysis." Kharbouch received nonstop death threats and hate speech; his lawyers said the pages were taken down as a precaution.
Read at Axios
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