Social media users are being urged not to share a rumour about unidentified children staying at nearby Holiday Inn after the terror attack in Manchester.
Although well-intentioned, the post claiming that 43 children are being kept at the hotel and offering a phone number for Holiday Inn Premier is fake.
A spokesperson for the hotel group has said that there are no unaccompanied children in the hotel, although Holiday Inn and other hotels in the area had been assisting those affected last night.
It is thought that the post is a result of a misunderstanding and has been shared more than 75,000 times.
PLEASE RT - info regarding holiday inn Manchester !!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/gckaqpW23j
— Roisin (@RoisinMc94) 23 May 2017
22 people are confirmed dead and dozens more are injured as a result of the attack in the foyer of Manchester Arena last night, at around 22:35 BST.
American singer Ariana Grande had just finished performing when a suicide bomber caused a devastating explosion in the venue.
Prime Minister Theresa May called the attack 'sickening'. Speaking outside of 10 Downing St at midday today, she said, "We struggle to comprehend the warped and twisted mind that sees a room packed with young children, not as a scene to cherish but an opportunity for carnage.”
“But we can continue to resolve to thwart such attacks in future, to take on and defeat the ideology that often fuels this violence. And if there turns out to be others responsible, to seek them out and bring them to justice."
Police have arrested a 23-year-old man in the south of the city, in connection with the attack.
The first victim of the attack was identified as 18-year-old Georgina 'Gina' Callander. The latest victim has been named as eight-year-old Saffie Rose Roussos. The third victim identified is 26-year-old Mancunian, John Atkinson.
Several posts pleading for information on the whereabouts of loved ones are circulating online. However, the search for missing people has been interrupted by the spread of fake news.
Sickeningly, there are a number of trolls who have claimed to be missing a relative, and purposely posting pictures of children that weren't at the concert.
Several users, who we won't all re-tweet for obvious reasons, have been using the identical caption: "My brother is missing in Manchester, the Ariana Grande concert - had no contact since the bomb went off. Please RT and share", with a photo of a random, young male teen.
One Australian mum was shocked to discover her 12-year-old daughter Gemma's photo being circulated. Writing on Facebook, photographer Rachel Devine was confounded at the use of her daughter's photo.
There is also a photo collage being circulated online which purports to show the people still missing. However, the photo shows people from different continents; and one college even featured Christopher Poole, the founder of website 4chan.org, also known as the birthplace of memes.
You can view the fake collage below, which has been mistakenly shared by several people.
Still MISSING people. Please retweet until they are found please. What is the world coming too. #Manchester #ManchesterArena pic.twitter.com/5OLouo2xmz
— Ryan Tongue (@tongueryan3) 23 May 2017
Some social media users were claiming that a Twitter user going by the handle '@owys663' had warned of the attack earlier that evening. The account was quickly suspended, but screenshots appeared to show that the user had posted the message "#ISLAMICSTATE, #manchesterarena, #UK #British ARE YOU FORGET OUR THREAT? THIS IS JUST THE TERROR" at 6:32pm.
The screenshots displayed the American date format, with the month appearing before the day. If it was captured in the US, the tweet would have been posted at 11:32pm, or a later UK time. There were no tweets responding to the supposed prediction until then.
Account suspended @owys663 thanks @Twitter #ManchesterStrong pic.twitter.com/fgbn0DyEqW
— Meliss Petrak-Mellor (@PetrakMelissa) 23 May 2017
The callous insensitivity is staggering, but never underestimate the ability of the dark web to exploit a tragedy.
