Social media post of parade shooter has been used for other incidents
A shooting in Kansas City during the Feb. 14 victory parade celebrating the Super Bowl Champion Chiefs left one person dead and 22 injured. Killed was Lisa Lopez-Galvan, 43, a mother of two who worked as a DJ in the KC area. The people injured were between the ages of 8 and 47 years old.
Shortly after the tragic incident, a post on social media appeared to identify the shooter.
“At least one of the Kansas City Chiefs parade shooters identified as Sahil Omar, a 44-year-old illegal immigrant. Biden has failed to protect America from invasion and terrorism,” read an X post that was shared more than 11,000 times.
But that’s not accurate, according to the Associated Press.
Missouri prosecutors said Tuesday that two men have been charged with murder in last week’s shooting.
Dominic Miller and Lyndell Mays are charged with second-degree murder and other counts. They have been hospitalized since the shooting, Jackson County prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said during a news conference.
The new charges come after two juveniles were detained last week on gun-related and resisting arrest charges. Authorities said more charges were possible.
The name Sahill Omar, identified as a 44-year-old immigrant, has shown up on social media following other tragic scenes.
In January, after an explosion at the Sandman Signature Hotel in Fort Worth, Texas, and in December, following a shooting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, social media users falsely identified the person responsible as migrant Sahill Omar, 44.
Video of bald Trump is fake
A video posted recently to Instagram appears to show former President Donald Trump giving a speech as a wig he is wearing is blown off his head, leaving him bald.
“There have been rumors and speculation that Trump does not in fact have real hair, but instead wears an elaborate hairpiece or wig to cover up a receding hairline or bald spot,” a narrator says near the beginning of the minute-and-a-half video.
After talking about a “strong gust of wind” during Trump’s speech, the narrator says, “Everyone watched in utter disbelief as Trump’s hair was lifted completely off his head.”
The video then shows a short clip of Trump speaking as a hairpiece is blown off his head, leaving him bald on top with the hair remaining on the sides flapping in the wind.
But this didn’t really happen. The video was doctored, making this a “baldfaced alteration,” according to PolitiFact.
The narrator of the video says the speech was taking place on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Pensacola, Florida. However, the clip is actually taken from a Nov. 9, 2019, appearance on the Joint Base Andrews tarmac in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
Versions of that video on C-SPAN show Trump giving his entire speech with a full head of hair.
Pope didn’t go against Lenten guidelines
The solemn 40-day season of Lent began Feb. 14, a time in which Christians participate in praying, fasting and serving others to observe the period that ends on Easter Sunday. Catholics are encouraged to abstain from eating meat on Fridays during that time.
But a recent Facebook post supposedly shows Pope Francis telling Catholics to ignore those rules.
“Eat whatever you want for Lent. The sacrifice is not in the stomach, but in the heart. They refrain from eating meat, but don’t talk to their siblings or relatives, don’t visit their parents or bother to attend to them,” begins a quote that is attributed to the Pope.
The quote talks about having a deeper relationship with God and ends with, “Let’s be less arrogant and more humble at heart.”
It’s a nice thought, but Pope Francis didn’t say it, according to USA Today. The post is fake.
There is no archive of any message from the pope that contains that message. His Lenten speeches usually focus on sacrifice and service.
Swift, Kelce post is satire
A recent social media post claims celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay kicked singer Taylor Swift and football player Travis Kelce out of his Las Vegas restaurant.
“Taylor and Travis are certainly making an impression on Las Vegas. Chef Ramsay had to kick them out personally,” reads a Feb. 16 Facebook post that includes a link to a story headlined, “Gordon Ramsay Had to Toss ‘Sloppy Drunks’ Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce out of Hell’s Kitchen Las Vegas.”
The post is followed by comments such as, “This is why I love Gordon Ramsey,” “Good for Ramsey. Most of us don't care either. They're both obnoxious,” and “I applaud him!”
But this didn’t really happen, according to Reuters. The article in the link is satire.
The article was shared by the Dunning-Kruger Times, which describes itself as part of a “network of parody, satire, and tomfoolery.”
Donna Kelce, Travis’ mother, in fact, visited Ramsay’s Las Vegas restaurant after the Super Bowl.
• Bob Oswald is a veteran Chicago-area journalist and former news editor of the Elgin Courier-News. Contact him at boboswald33@gmail.com.