{"id":2295284,"date":"2024-07-15T11:50:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-15T15:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fact-check-threads-image-falsely-identifies-man-accused-of-shooting-trump\/"},"modified":"2024-07-15T11:51:05","modified_gmt":"2024-07-15T15:51:05","slug":"fact-check-threads-image-falsely-identifies-man-accused-of-shooting-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fact-check-threads-image-falsely-identifies-man-accused-of-shooting-trump\/","title":{"rendered":"FACT CHECK: Threads Image Falsely Identifies Man Accused Of Shooting Trump"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffact-check-threads-image-falsely-identifies-man-accused-of-shooting-trump%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2295284&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article \u2063shared on Threads claims that a\u2064 man accused \u2064of shooting former President\u2062 Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, PA is a Turkish \u2062left-wing political commentator named Hasan Piker. However, this claim is false. The actual shooter\u200c has \u2064been \u2063identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, a man with no known\u2063 history of mental illness. The image\u200c of Piker holding a gun \u200bis actually from a role-playing scenario\u2064 in a video\u200c game where he portrays a libertarian character named Hank Pecker. Pecker is described as a gun-loving, right-wing character, in \u200bcontrast to \u2062Piker&#8217;s\u200b actual political beliefs. The false \u200dclaim was debunked by a fact-checking organization that found the image originated\u2064 from \u200dPiker&#8217;s Instagram \u200baccount.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div id=\"ob-read-more-selector\">\n<p>An image <a href=\"https:\/\/www.threads.net\/@barbaraj.sobel\/post\/C9YdoUDJ_T8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">shared on Threads<\/a> claims to show a man who is accused of shooting 2024 presumptive Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump during his July 13 campaign rally in Butler, PA.<\/p>\n<blockquote id=\"ig-tp-C9YdoUDJ_T8\" data-text-post-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.threads.net\/@barbaraj.sobel\/post\/C9YdoUDJ_T8\" data-text-post-version=\"0\">\n<div>\n<p>Post by @barbaraj.sobel<\/p>\n<p>View on Threads<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span><strong>Verdict: False<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The image shows Turkish left-wing political commentator and Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, who portrays libertarian character Hank Pecker. Thomas Matthew Crooks has been identified as the shooter who opened fire at Trump\u2019s campaign rally.<\/p>\n<p><span><strong>Fact Check:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Crooks worked as a dietary aide at the Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and did not have a \u201cknown history of mental illness,\u201d according to <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/trump-rally-shooting-suspect-fbi-names-pennsylvania-man\/story?id=111921870\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ABC News<\/a>. Crooks was also described by his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-watch-herschel-walker-ad-recalls-georgia-football-legends-small-town-roots\/\" title=\"Exclusive \u2014 Watch: Herschel Walker Ad Recalls Georgia Football Legend&#039;s Small-Town Roots\">high school classmates<\/a> as \u201clonely\u201d and \u201cquiet,\u201d the outlet reported.<\/p>\n<p>The Threads image claims Pecker is the man who is accused of shooting Trump during his July 13 campaign rally in Butler, PA. The image, which shows a male wearing a shirt featuring an AR-15 and holding a gun, claims Pecker is a 32-year-old California resident. The image does not provide a source to support its claim.<\/p>\n<p>The claim is false, however. Check Your Fact performed a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fact-check-no-this-is-not-matt-gaetzs-actual-senior-photo-from-high-school\/\" title=\"FACT CHECK: No, This Is Not Matt Gaetz\u2019s Actual Senior Photo From High School\">reverse image search<\/a> and found the image originally shared on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/hasandpiker\/p\/CaLfb2ZvybP\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Instagram<\/a> in February 2022 by Piker. According to a <a href=\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/streaming\/news\/slasher-sneaks-in-reference-to-hasans-hank-pecker-character-on-news-broadcast\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">July 2022 article from Dot Esports<\/a>, Piker portrays the character Hank Pecker \u201cwhen role-playing in video games on stream.\u201d Pecker is the opposite of Piker politically, according to the same article. He is \u201ca gun-loving, self-proclaimed libertarian that holds a plethora of right<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/study-boosting-testosterone-levels-of-democrat-men-makes-them-more-right-wing\/\" title=\"Study: Boosting Testosterone Levels of Democrat Men Makes Them More Right-Wing\">-wing political beliefs<\/a>,\u201d the outlet indicated.<\/p>\n<blockquote data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CaLfb2ZvybP\/?utm_source=ig_embed&#038;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\"><\/blockquote>\n<p>Likewise, Check Your Fact did not find the Threads image referenced in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?sca_esv=cc0e0c03d1bc2a3c&#038;sca_upv=1&#038;q=trump+rally+shooting&#038;tbm=nws&#038;source=lnms&#038;fbs=AEQNm0Aa4sjWe7Rqy32pFwRj0UkWfbQph1uib-VfD_izZO2Y5pt2wBeNNRFhtfGNWgf58yx92Jp-uhTXGV66lJaxGBpwA5xPERCW2nvZPgtahTBof7yTmhNDobVZKeXe10eX55Ne96XXR___GO1xKmW6CzL0R6YEYzf6ww9x1iVDuPPsvmaKaCpFg6XIe_78QaS_C8bAVOnxM91-QY2ebiCJit619FPFRA&#038;sa=X&#038;ved=2ahUKEwjt-v3DoKmHAxUFElkFHQP8Cd8Q0pQJegQICxAB&#038;biw=1680&#038;bih=870&#038;dpr=2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">any <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fact-check-does-this-photo-show-an-israeli-clergyman-blessing-guns\/\" title=\"FACT CHECK: Does This Photo Show An Israeli Clergyman Blessing Guns?\">credible news reports<\/a><\/a> about the shooting. Actually, the opposite is true. On July 14, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politifact.com\/factchecks\/2024\/jul\/14\/threads-posts\/donald-trump-shooter-was-not-identified-as-32-year\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Politifact<\/a> reported the image showed Pecker, the character portrayed by Piker, and not the actual shooter.<\/p>\n<p>Crooks, a 20-year-old from Bethel Park, PA, is the individual who shot Trump during the campaign rally, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-assassination-attempt-thomas-matthew-crooks-shooter-881581c46c07025898027143fc9132e5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Associated Press<\/a>. Crooks, who killed one rally attendee as a result of the incident, was shot dead by the Secret Service, the outlet reported. An investigation into Crooks\u2019 possible motive is currently underway. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/checkyourfact.com\/2024\/07\/14\/fact-check-viral-photo-of-mark-violets-is-not-trump-rally-shooter\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(RELATED: Viral Photo Of \u2018Mark Violets\u2019 Is Not Trump Rally Shooter)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Although voter registration records appear to show Crooks was a registered Republican, he made a $15 donation to the Progressive Turnout Project in 2021, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2024\/07\/14\/trump-rally-shooter-thomas-matthew-crooks\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Axios<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A picture circulating on Threads falsely claims to show Hasan Piker, a Turkish left-wing political commentator, as the man who shot Donald Trump during a campaign rally. In reality, Thomas Matthew Crooks, a dietary aide at a nursing home, was identified as the actual shooter. Crooks, described as lonely and quiet by classmates, was shot dead by the Secret Service after killing one rally attendee. The image of Piker as the shooter is not supported by any credible sources and is debunked by fact-checkers<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":263,"featured_media":2295285,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/GettyImages-2159726986-scaled-e1721052804133.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[13420,35102,19632,35103,32827],"class_list":["post-2295284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-fact-check","tag-falsely-identifies","tag-image","tag-shooting-trump","tag-threads"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/GettyImages-2159726986-scaled-e1721052804133.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2295284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/263"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2295284"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2295284\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2295285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2295284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2295284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2295284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}