Some people on social media have been falsely claiming to have been assaulted by black people at screenings of Black Panther.
People on social media are saying they’ve been assaulted by black moviegoers at various Thursday showings of “Black Panther” for the simple reason that they’re white, Buzzfeed News reported. The tweets have included photos of bloodied and bruised individuals.
But the photos, along with the posts, are fake, Vox.com reported
One user wrote that he went to a “Black Panther” premiere Thursday night with his wife. Three black women allegedly approached the woman and said “this movie ain’t for you…” and attacked her, Business Insider reported.
The post included part of a widely circulated photo of Colbie Holderness, the ex-wife of Rob Porter, the former White House press secretary. Holderness used the picture — documentation of the abuse she says she suffered from Porter — in an op-ed she wrote in the Washington Post about her relationship with him.
That wasn’t the first tweet alleging assault with photos of domestic violence victims. Another user said she was “brutally attacked by some black thugs” who said whites weren’t allowed to watch Black Panther, Vox reported. The photo used in the post was of a woman who says she was brutally beaten by her boyfriend after she refused to get him a cigarette.
Many people were disappointed and disgusted.
The users behind the most visible tweets have since made their accounts private, Twitter shows. Many of the tweets have been taken down by Twitter, Business Insider said.
Some Twitter users poked fun at the apparent trolling.
There are ways to check whether an image actually comes from the item posted. A reverse Google search is a way to find out where an image originated. Vox reports that Tin Eye allows you to search stock image databases so you can identify the earliest-known source for a photo.
The Walt Disney Co. estimated Friday that “Black Panther” earned $25.2 million from its Thursday preview screenings — the second biggest for a Marvel Studios film behind « Avengers: Age of Ultron, » which earned $27.6 million in previews, the Associated Press reported.
