Right-Wing and Israeli Accounts Falsely Claimed the Brown University Attacker Was Palestinian

On December 13, a shooting at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, left two students dead and several others injured. Police launched an immediate, multi-day operation to track down the suspect, amid heightened concern across the campus and the surrounding community.

In the days following the attack, Rhode Island officials condemned the spread of misinformation and rumors on social media, saying they hindered the investigation into the shooting.

Authorities warned that inaccurate posts distracted law enforcement and could jeopardize the case, emphasizing that criminal investigations must rely on evidence, not speculation or online chatter.

A Portuguese Suspect in Brown University Shooting

Authorities have identified the suspect as Claudio Neves Valente, 48, a Portuguese national who previously attended Brown University. Officials confirmed that he acted alone and was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot at a storage facility in New Hampshire.

The shooting occurred at Brown University in Providence, and surveillance footage showed Valente carrying a weapon before opening fire on students. A multi-day manhunt led authorities to him, confirming him as the attacker and dispelling the rumors that circulated in the weeks following the incident.

Right-Wing and Israeli Accounts Falsely Claimed Brown University Shooter Was Palestinian

Despite ongoing investigations, unidentified right-wing and Israeli accounts on X spread false claims that the Brown University shooter was a Palestinian student named Mustapha Kharbouch.

The allegations intensified after users noticed that Brown University had deleted Kharbouch’s profile. Kharbouch, a first-year student majoring in International Relations and Anthropology with a focus on the Middle East, was described as a third-generation Palestinian refugee born and raised in Lebanon.

Images and videos of Kharbouch circulated alongside footage of the suspect, leading to threats of violence and deportation against him. The campaign focused on his pro-Palestinian activities, with some online users comparing his appearance and movements to those of the shooter.

High-profile figures helped amplify the false narrative, including right-wing broadcaster Tim Pool, billionaire Bill Ackman, U.S. Assistant Attorney Harmit Dillon, and several pro-Israel right-wing accounts and websites, spreading rumors and unfounded accusations widely.

Misbar also found that multiple Arabic-speaking, pro-Israel accounts played a key role in spreading the misleading claims about the shooter’s identity by reposting the allegations without citing official sources.

These accounts falsely asserted that the attacker was Kharbouch, ignoring clarifications from U.S. authorities. Among the most prominent promoters of these claims was Israeli activist and journalist Edy Cohen, known for regularly pushing politicized and misleading narratives targeting Palestinians and Muslims in the West, particularly during security-related incidents. His activity helped expand the misinformation and turn it into inflammatory rhetoric, as he has done in similar cases.

“Criminal investigations are based on evidence, not speculation or online commentary,” said Rhode Island State Police Chief Col. Darnell Weaver. “The constant flow of misinformation, rumors, and leaks has not helped the investigation. It has complicated it and threatened the pursuit of justice.”

False Claims Targeting Mustapha Kharbouch

Mustapha Kharbouch, the student targeted by these rumors, addressed the allegations in a statement shared by his legal team with Agence France-Presse, saying, “I woke up on Tuesday morning to unfounded, vile, Islamophobic, and anti-Palestinian accusations being targeted toward me online.” He added that he had been subjected to non-stop death threats and hate speech.

Kharbouch has fully cooperated with authorities, and his legal team described the campaign as “racist, disturbing, and full of hatred,” noting that it distracted investigators from their work.

Brown University said the steps it took to limit Kharbouch’s online presence were part of a “security measure,” stressing that the online leak of personal information poses a serious threat to individual safety.

U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse urged social media users to stop speculating, warning that rumors could flood tip lines with false information, complicating the investigation and increasing the risk of further harm.

Authorities Confirm Kharbouch Was Cleared in Brown University Shooting

Brown University President Christina Paxson called the attack and its aftermath “devastating” for those affected by online rumors and false accusations, expressing hope that revealing Neves Valente’s identity would “put an end to this troubling activity.”

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha emphasized that anyone named in the investigation would have been directly investigated if they were connected to the incident.

Before Neves Valente’s identification, a local law enforcement official involved in the investigation confirmed that Mustapha Kharbouch was never a person of interest.

Officials warned that the flood of rumors and misinformation hampers police work and endangers public safety, cautioning that spreading unfounded claims online can harm innocent people and interfere with law enforcement efforts.

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