Misinformation on social media can spread quickly, and sometimes, it can have serious consequences. A prime example of this happened last year after a shooting at a Chiefs Super Bowl rally.
Denton Loudermill Jr. was mistakenly identified as the shooter at the rally. On the day of the shooting, which resulted in one person being killed and over 20 others injured, videos of Loudermill being detained by police were shared online. However, these videos were not shown by local news channel KSHB 41. Despite this, many people on social media shared the footage out of context, leading to the false belief that Loudermill was the shooter.
Although Loudermill was detained, he was later released because there was no evidence linking him to the shooting. But by that time, his name and face had already been spread across social media, and many people wrongly assumed he was involved in the crime.
Some of the most damaging misinformation came from government officials. Tennessee Representative Tim Burchett and Missouri Senators Rick Brattin, Denny Hoskins, and Nick Schroer all posted tweets, some of which were later deleted, but not before they had been shared widely. These tweets helped spread the false claim that Loudermill was the shooter, and the tweets reached millions of people.
Loudermill took legal action against the government officials who shared the false information. He said that if they had done their homework and properly checked the facts, his face wouldn’t have been spread everywhere as the suspected shooter.
“I think they should make sure they know what they are talking about before they push send on the computer,” Loudermill said, stressing the importance of fact-checking before sharing anything online.
The damage to Loudermill’s reputation was significant. He was falsely labeled as the shooter and even referred to as an “illegal alien.” These hurtful labels caused lasting harm, and even now, people still stop Loudermill to ask about the incident. “I’m still hearing things about what happened from last year,” Loudermill said. “I wish that some of the things on the computer weren’t there.”
Despite the pain caused by the misinformation, Loudermill urges people to take extra time to verify the facts before sharing anything on the internet. “What people put on the computer could tear someone’s life apart,” he said. “But hopefully everything will be alright.”
Loudermill’s lawyers are still working to hold the government officials accountable for spreading the false information. A federal judge had dismissed the lawsuits, but Loudermill’s legal team has refiled the case against three Missouri lawmakers.
(Source : newsbreak.com)
