Terrorism Analyst and co-founder of the Search International Terrorist Entities (SITE) Intelligence Group Rita Katz falsely reported Friday that a photo of a first responder to the Mayfair Mall shooting was of the shooter himself in a now-deleted tweet.
Katz's tweet contained a photo of a law enforcement officer responding to the scene at the Mayfair Mall in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. She claimed the photo depicted the shooter.
"An image of the shooter shows him wearing what appears to be a face mask and holding what appears to be an assault rifle," her tweet read.
Did Rita Katz just get caught misidentifying the suspect in a mall shooting? pic.twitter.com/F8mzkZaalz
— Jack Posobiec ?? (@JackPosobiec) November 21, 2020
Did Rita Katz just steal this image from another journalist without credit and falsely label it without doing any original research or reporting?
— Jack Posobiec ?? (@JackPosobiec) November 21, 2020
This is a complete breach of ethics as well as putting law enforcement in danger
She identified a police officer as a mass shooter
Spreading disinformation on Twitter in an active shooter situation is very problematic. https://t.co/fTTzZ5O3w4
— Jack Posobiec ?? (@JackPosobiec) November 21, 2020
A reporter for ABC affiliate WISN12News, Caroline Reinwald, corrected Katz's false report in a tweet saying, "This is a photo I tweeted out courtesy of Joshua Gresl, who was inside after the shooting. It's a photo of law enforcement checking the building. That's a first responder in uniform."
Katz later apologies for the blunder in a tweet that read, "Correction: In a previous tweet (now deleted), I posted a picture of a police officer and described him as the suspect. Apologies for the mistake."
Correction: In a previous tweet (now deleted), I posted a picture of a police officer and described him as the suspect. Apologies for the mistake.
— Rita Katz (@Rita_Katz) November 21, 2020
Seven adults and one teenager were injured during the shooting at the mall near Milwaukee, police said.
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