After the attack in Heidelberg: The alleged “vegan shooter”

Anonymous users have slandered a YouTuber as the alleged perpetrator of Heidelberg. Allegedly, the vegan wanted to take revenge for the suffering of animals. The story is fictitious, but not an isolated case.

After the armed attack in Heidelberg with one fatality, there is still no new information about the motive of the 18-year-old suspect. The gunman shot dead a 23-year-old student at Heidelberg University and injured three other students. The fellow student of the attacked students then committed suicide.

According to prosecutors, the 18-year-old has no criminal record. He is said to have obtained the two weapons he used abroad. According to the police, the perpetrator is a German who had not previously been noticed by the police. Immediately before the crime, the man sent a WhatsApp message that “people have to be punished”.

While the investigation is still in its infancy, social networks are discussing, among other things, whether the crime could have been explicitly directed against women.

Targeted defamation

In addition to such discussions about the possible motive, there are also concrete false reports, as they can almost always be observed after such tragic events. This includes the distribution of photos or videos of an alleged perpetrator.

After the attack in Heidelberg, one tweet in particular caused a stir: An anonymous user claimed that the perpetrator was 23-year-old Tobias Ludloff, who, as a vegan, wanted revenge for the suffering of animals and hated students.

This is a targeted hoax: Ludloff is very active on social media, including YouTube. A sequence was cut from one of his videos in which he had announced the end of his video format years ago. This excerpt has nothing to do with the crime in Heidelberg. The statement was torn out of its context and specifically placed in a new context.

Ludloff spoke up about the defamation himself and emphasized including on YouTubethat it has nothing to do with the fact.

The media spread the wrong names of the perpetrators

Slanders like this keep popping up. After an alleged attack in Norway in October 2021, European media are spreading a fictitious name of an alleged suspect. They claim that the alleged perpetrator is a Rainer Winklarson.

They fell for an action by trolls who want to create confusion and slander the victim. For example, the name Rainer Winkler – known as “Dragon Lord” – has been popping up again and again for years when it comes to alleged perpetrators of attacks.

Political instrumentalization

In addition to such targeted false reports, another phenomenon can be observed after attacks: the respective act is said to be instrumentalized for one’s own political agenda. In recent years, after acts of violence, there has always been speculation about the nationality or religion of the perpetrator and demands for political consequences. False letters of confession also appeared several times.

In the current case, users speculate that the attacker was probably driven to act by the corona measures. There are no indications for this.

Other users asked scornful questions as to whether the attacker in the lecture hall wore a mask or was vaccinated. Manipulated screenshots of messages also circulated in which the perpetrator was said to have been described as unvaccinated, as journalist Lars Wienand first reported.

Profiles locked

Twitter has meanwhile blocked the profile of the user who first published the false report about Tobias Ludloff. Instagram also deleted corresponding postings and blocked at least one profile that had reported on the alleged “vegan shooter”.