AAP FACTCHECK – A photo shows the teenage boy charged with killing three children and injuring several others in a knife attack in the UK, social media posts claim.
This is false. The photo shows a man being arrested over an incident in Dublin in September 2023.
The claim appears in Facebook posts featuring an image of a man being held down by police on the side of a car.
“This is the man ‘from Cardiff’ that murdered little girls. Straight off a boat,” the posts said.
The overlay image on the text also said: “17-year-old demonic monster”.
The earliest version of the claim appeared in an X post by Andrew Tate, the controversial influencer accused of human trafficking.
However, a reverse image search on Google revealed the photo showed a man being arrested over a stabbing at Dublin Airport in Ireland on September 17, 2023.
A user posted an image on X of the alleged Dublin attacker on September 23 then reshared the same image with other shots of the arrest on December 23.
The Irish Mirror also published one of those photographs with the face of the accused blurred two days after the airport attack on September 19.
British police have not revealed the name or any images of the 17-year-old boy charged with murder and attempted murder over the Southport attack.
Contrary to Tate’s claim that he arrived in the UK by boat, police confirmed he was born in Cardiff.
Due to his age, he could not be legally identified, which has spurred widespread misinformation about his identity online.
Members of the far-right English Defence League attacked a mosque and injured several police officers in Southport after a vigil for the victims.
The Verdict
False – The claim is inaccurate.
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