A Mexican mas was reported as a victim of the terrorist attack at Atatürk airport in Istanbul, Turkey. The same man was believed to be a victim of the EgyptAir crash last month. He also appeared on the lists of victims of the shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida on June 12. On June 19, he was among the victims of the deadly clash between dissident teachers and Mexican police in Nochixtlán, Oaxaca.
How is this possible?
International media, such as The BBC and France 24, saw through this scam and reported about the fake posts. They also noted that the media accounts that first shared posts about this man were all based in Mexico.
The team of France 24 contacted these users and they said they knew the man in the photo personally and that he had cheated them out of money, ranging from fairly small sums up to about US$1,000.
“This man used to be my friend but he’s cheated money out of me and at least four people who I know. I lodged both civil and criminal complaints against him, but because the legal proceedings are dragging on and he still hasn’t given us back our money, we decided to punish him by posting his photo online. Our goal is to ruin his reputation. We want the whole world to recognise his face.” one of the users told France 24.
France 24 also contacted the man in the pictures to verify the story. He didn’t deny being caught up in legal proceedings.
“My photo is everywhere because of someone who started it as a prank after a legal dispute. I never reported the people who did this to me because, in Mexico, nothing ever happens in these kinds of cases.” he said.
“Now, my photo has appeared in several stories that were widely shared on Twitter. I contacted several media outlets like the BBC and the New York Times and asked them to delete my photo but they never responded.” he added.
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