A Sydney resident, mistakenly identified as one of the gunmen in the Bondi Beach incident, is urging the public to set the record straight.
Known as Aloush on social media, he released a video on Wednesday to address incorrect reports that linked a picture of him from a pro-Palestine rally in Sydney two years ago to one of the suspected shooters.
Authorities named the two suspects in the Bondi terror attack on Monday as Sajid Akram, 50, and his son, Naveed Akram, aged 24.
As law enforcement delved into the suspects’ histories, amateur online detectives embarked on their own investigations, resulting in numerous erroneous identifications.
In his video, Aloush highlighted a viral post on platform X that juxtaposed an image of him at a protest with that of the 24-year-old suspect.
The post provocatively questioned, “Is this [alleged] Bondi terrorist, Naveed Akram, confronting police at the notorious ‘Gas the Jews’ rally?”
It was a reference to a pro-Palestine rally outside Sydney’s Opera House in October 2023, where some attendees reported hearing antisemitic chants.
NSW Police later said forensic analysis found no evidence the phrase ‘gas the Jews’ was chanted in footage taken at the rally.
The man, who goes by the name Aloush on social media, posted a video on Wednesday responding to false reports linking an image of him at a Sydney pro-Palestine rally two years ago to an image of one of the alleged shooters
The post has so far been viewed more than 600,000 times and attracted thousands of comments, many insisting it was the alleged shooter in both images.
‘Same guy 100 per cent’, one wrote.
‘You could find him and the police couldn’t? F***ing ridiculous government,’ another said.
Aloush insisted the photo was of himself rather than Akram, stating: ‘Half a million people on Twitter are saying this guy is me. What’s wrong with this world?’
It was only the latest in a string of misidentifications made in the wake of the shooting on Sunday night that killed at least 15 people and injured dozens more.
In one instance, Facebook photos of a Pakistani man who shares the name Naveed Akram were circulated online with false claims he was the shooter.
He told the Daily Mail has was too afraid to go outside when a friend first told alerted him to the news.
‘When I got this news that my picture is being used for that [alleged] shooter, I was in shock, I couldn’t go outside, I was feeling so unsafe,’ he said.
Aloush was pictured at a pro-Palestine rally at the Sydney Opera House in October 2023
Pictured is a fabricated Facebook profile of alleged gunman Naveed Akram under the name David Cohen, portraying the 24-year-old as Jewish
‘It’s a life-threatening situation for me… I can’t explain in words what I felt at that time. I was shaking.’
He said the false reports left him feeling doubly traumatised: firstly, by the terror attack itself and secondly, by being accused of participating in it.
Other posts involved entirely made-up identities, including one claiming Naveed Akram’s real name was ‘David Cohen’.
‘Leaked Facebook profile of the [alleged] Bondi Beach shooter before it got deleted. His real name is David Cohen and he’s JEWISH, FROM ISRAEL!’ one post said.
AI-generated content has also added to misinformation surrounding the attack itself, including manufactured footage of a survivor having fake-blood applied at the scene.
Other posts, meanwhile, misrepresented the efforts of police at the scene and spread false reports of separate attacks across Sydney.
Australia’s eSafety Commissioner has confirmed her office received a number of complaints about online material related to the shooting.
The regulator said it would work with platforms to ensure they meet their legal obligations and didn’t rule out taking action.
The Bondi Beach attack was Australia’s worst mass shooting in nearly three decades, since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre.
Sajid Akram was shot dead by police at the scene of the attack, while Naveed was rushed to hospital under police guard.
He has since been charged with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder and committing a terrorist act.
