September 12, 2025
RED FM News Desk
A Toronto man says he is “horrified and shocked” after being wrongly identified online as the shooter in the fatal attack on American conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.
Kirk, a well-known conservative figure and ally of former U.S. President Donald Trump, was shot and killed on Wednesday during an event at a college in Utah.
Michael Mallinson, a retired Canadian banker, says he had never even heard of Kirk before receiving a frantic phone call from his daughter. She urged him to immediately delete his social media accounts after seeing that his name and photo were spreading online.
Mallinson discovered that a fake news account had falsely identified him as the shooter, labeling him as a Democrat and claiming he had been arrested and released by police — all of which was untrue. The image of Mallinson quickly went viral, exposing him to a wave of online harassment and hateful messages.
He says the experience has left his family deeply distressed and highlights the dangerous impact of online misinformation.
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