Trolls Are Sharing Fake 'Missing Friends' Posts in Wake of Manchester Arena Bombing

Trolls have circulated fabricated "missing friends" claims in the wake of the tragic Manchester Arena bombing.

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False claims of "missing friends" have been circulated by trolls following the tragic Manchester Arena bombing Monday. Multiple fabricated claims appeared on Twitter after the attack at an Ariana Grande concert, Mashablereported Tuesday. Photos have allegedly been stolen from unrelated social media accounts, then shared in an apparent effort to capitalize on the horrific event, which left 22 dead and 59 others injured.

"I'm home from surgery and woke from a nap to multiple messages asking if Gemma was safe," Rachel Devine, who lives in Australia, wrote on Facebook. "Apparently someone used a photo of Gemma in a fake profile on Twitter claiming she was a friend lost in the tragedy in Manchester. I'll never understand the bizarre thing of pretending to be someone else online." Gemma, Devine's 12-year-old daughter, was actually "safe at school" at the time, according to local press.

Similar cases of stolen photos and fabricated claims, embedded below, have also been called out on social media:

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A few of the fake "missing friends" claims made their way onto major news networks, including this example of a Fox News report:

YouTuber @TheReportOfTheWeek, who was inaccurately included in the Fox News report above, shared a video Monday night entitled "I am alive" in an effort to clear up any confusion. "Some people propagated a certain rumor claiming that I was a victim in the attack in Manchester at the Ariana Grande concert," @TheReportOfTheWeek said. "I'm just making this video to let you know that I am, indeed, alive, well, and OK here in the United States, not the UK. This unfortunately was just an effort done by various trolls and certain website users just to try to mislead the general public with fake news and just to try to get some laughs out of it."

Three victims have been named in the bombing so far, BBC Newsreported Tuesday. 28-year-old John Atkinson, eight-year-old Saffie Rose Roussos, and 18-year-old Georgina Callander have been confirmed as among the deceased. The suspect has been identified by police as 22-year-old Salman Abedi.

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