Area Republican groups won’t describe process in sharing image that MU student group says is fake

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The University of Missouri's College Republicans and the Boone County Republicans have taken down social media posts from Wednesday that accused Mizzou Students for Justice in Palestine of supporting New Orleans terror attack suspect Shamsud-Din Jabbar.

A social media post shared by the Mizzou College Republicans included an image that looks like a screenshot of an Instagram account that looks like MSJP's. However, there is no post similar to it on MSJP's account. A number of people -- including MSJP -- have stated the screenshot shared by Mizzou College Republicans is fake. The image was also shared by Boone County Republicans.

College Republicans President Brenden Poteet told ABC 17 News on Wednesday that the screenshot of the MSJP Instagram post originated on the anonymous social media application Yik Yak. Poteet declined to give an additional comment on Thursday.

MSJP President Isleen Atallah said in an interview with ABC 17 News that the alleged Instagram post was not created by MSJP. Atallah adds that most members of the organization were shocked that the image gained traction online, due to how poorly it matched the club's graphic design style and values.

"We pride ourselves with our consistency in advocating for peace and justice," Atallah said. "It was also just a very bad or badly made screenshot, or badly photoshopped screenshot."

According to Atallah, the university has reached out to the club's advisor, but none of the students in the group have been contacted. Atallah added that she feels like the post takes away from the tragedy in New Orleans.

"People from New Orleans were still trying to figure out if their loved ones, if their families were hurt. And now the attention has been diverted to deal with such a ridiculous allegation," Atallah said.

In a statement on an Instagram story Thursday night, MSJP wrote, "We want to clarify that MSJP did NOT post this content. We stand for peace and justice, and have been consistently advocating against violence and hate in all forms. We have been scrutinized for simply existing on campus, and for that reason, all content we post is thoroughly researched and fact-checked by multiple board members."

"In my role as president of JP, the No. 1 thing is, don't take my word for it, go out and do your own research and educate yourself," Atallah said. "It's just very disappointing that there are students who are willing to do all of this damage and put students in harm's way before they pick up a book or research anything."

When asked how they validate posts before posting online, both the Boone County Republicans and the Mizzou College Republicans declined to comment.

According spokesperson of the Islamic Center of Central Missouri Rasha Abousalem, members of the campus community have reached out and said that they believe the Instagram post was fake.

Mackenzie Ortiz, of the Mid-Missouri Democratic Socialists of America, was vocal online after the post, encouraging others on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, to report the Mizzou College Republicans page for spreading misinformation.

"My initial response was... I was afraid that people were actually going to be in danger, if they believed that this was real," Ortiz said.

Abousalem added that misinformation is dangerous.

"People take screenshots that will repost and it's not always deleted, so unfortunately there's a ripple effect to these kinds of situations," Abousalem said.

The University of Missouri said in a statement, "We strongly condemn violence of any kind. We are investigating this matter with the seriousness and urgency it deserves."

Boone County Republicans told ABC 17 News in an email that it has deleted its posts.

"Boone County Republicans have no comment at this time, we have removed our posts. This is an MU campus matter and we have faith that this will be handled with the utmost professionalism and sensitivity for all parties involved," the email reads.

Poteet said on Wednesday that he decided to take down the Facebook post at the advice of his executive board.

According to defense attorney Dan Viets, if the MSJP Instagram post is proven to be false, there may be grounds for a defamation lawsuit.

"If one knowingly publishes information which is false and which damages the character or reputation of the person who is the subject of that communication, then absolutely it is the basis for a civil lawsuit," Viets said.

The University of Missouri has not given any updates on the current investigation.