A Pakistani man living in Australia has described his 'deep trauma' after being wrongly identified online as one of the perpetrators of the Bondi beach terror attack. Naveed Akram, 30, who runs his own business in New South Wales, saw his photo circulated widely on social media platforms such as X and Facebook, falsely labelling him as a shooter.
The misinformation began after police identified the two alleged shooters as father and son Sajid Akram, 50, and Naveed Akram, 24. Akram's photos were shared without verification, and incorrect details about his education were also published on mainstream media websites including the Jerusalem Post and World Is One news.
Akram expressed shock and horror when he saw his image being shared by accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers. 'It was extremely disturbing for me,' he said. 'I was so traumatised and I knew I needed to try and get the message out that this wasn't me.' Many of the accounts sharing his image were from India, as right-wing influencers seized on the alleged origin of the shooter without fact-checking.
The alleged attacker Naveed Akram is an Australian citizen, while his father migrated to Australia in the late 1990s. None of the false posts were given warning labels or community notes by the platforms. Akram reported the issue to police, who advised him to disable his social media accounts. He also made a video to clarify his identity and called for the posts to be taken down.
Akram said he is still scared to go outside and fears for his life. 'My only priority right now is to clear my name and protect me and my wife,' he added. The incident is part of a wider spread of false reports following the attack, including claims about the shooter's identity and the hero who tackled one of the gunmen.
