A Pakistani namesake of the Bondi Beach gunman has become the victim of a coordinated misinformation campaign after Indian media outlets falsely linked him to the deadly attack that killed at least 15 people on Sunday.
The shooting took place during a Hanukkah gathering where assailants deliberately targeted the Jewish community. Law enforcement identified the suspects as a father and son, revealing that the father, 50, was killed at the scene, while his son, 24, remained in critical condition.
Authorities confirmed the son was born in Australia whereas the father, 50, had entered the country on student visa and later secured a partner visa. While police have not publicly disclosed the attackers’ country of origin or officially released the attackers’ names, local media identified one suspect as Naveed Akram.
The reports were followed by Indian and Israeli media outlets claiming the attacker had “links to Pakistan”, publishing fake images on social media.
Despite no official statement, some Indian reports went on to claim the suspect was a “Pakistani national from Lahore” or of “Pakistani-origin”.
The misinformation campaign ended up targeting an innocent Pakistani namesake of the attacker.
In a video on social media, Naveed Akram addressed the false reports.
“Today I’m going to talk about a very serious and terrible incident that has happened in Bondi Beach and so many people have been killed and I really condemn that attack. That should not have happened,” he said.
On claims regarding the identity of one of the shooters, Akram said some social media accounts had taken pictures from his Facebook account and linked him to the shooter.
“I’m going to clearly tell everyone that it is not me and I have nothing to do with that incident or with that person. That is a different person and I am completely outside of this matter.”
“This issue is very serious and I’m very stressed and scared about this and I cannot even go outside safely. I’m traumatized right now. Firstly, because something has happened over there. And secondly because my pictures have been shared by different accounts, which is putting my life at risk.”
“I just want everyone’s help to stop this propaganda. Please, if you see any posts that have my pictures, report that account and do not spread that thing because it can turn very dangerously against me,” he concluded.