What was claimed
The victim of a knife attack in Belfast, Northern Ireland, was a 15-year-old boy.
Our verdict
False. Authorities confirmed the victim is in his 40s.
AAP FACTCHECK - A knife attack in Belfast has sparked unrest throughout the city and led to numerous falsehoods being shared online, including by Australians.
A Sudanese national named Hadi Alodid, 30, has been charged with the attempted murder of Stephen Ogilvie over the June 8 incident.
Violence broke out across Northern Ireland in response to the attack, with masked crowds clashing with police and setting fire to homes of migrant families.
The victim is aged in his 40s and suffered significant injuries to his face, neck and back, according to a statement from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).
Multiple Facebook posts falsely claim the victim was a teenager.
"I watched the video footage, sadly, this is real," a June 10 post reads.
"It is awful. Such evil. Time to expel illegals from western nations The victim was only 15 years old…"
Another post claims: "The 'young man' who was victim in the Belfast attack was a 15 year old boy!!
"The poor boy died from the injuries."
Other posts repeat "unconfirmed reports" that the victim had died.
However, Mr Ogilvie's family issued a statement via the PSNI to confirm that he had survived the attack.
"We have witnessed a lot of false information circulating on social media which is now forcing us to clarify that our loved one is in fact in a stable condition, and we are solely focused on his recovery at this time."
Social media users are also sharing unrelated images, including one photo users claim shows Mr Ogilvie in hospital.
The graphic image, which shows a man in a hospital bed with cuts and stitches over his face, was posted on Facebook and X with the caption: "This is Stephen Ogilvie lying in hospital bed after the attack according to some reports."
A spokesperson for the PSNI told fact-checking outlet Lead Stories that the person in the photo is not the victim of the June 8 attack.
Police confirmed that Alodid crossed the Irish border into Northern Ireland in February 2023 and claimed asylum, according to a report in The Guardian.
He was granted five years’ leave to remain in September 2023 and was living in the UK legally as a refugee.
Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson warned against sharing footage or images of the attack on social media, saying it could cause "further trauma to the injured man’s loved ones and may impact the ongoing investigation".
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