'It was Terrifying,' Student Misidentified as FSU Shooter Tells NewsGuard
PLUS: Kremlin Targets Moldova’s Pro-Europe President; Milwaukee Judge Smeared with AI Mugshots
Welcome to Reality Check, original reporting that’s your BS detector.
Our work is more important than ever. Please support us by becoming a Premium Member. And forward this email to a friend to spread the word!
Follow us on your social media platform of choice: X | LinkedIn | Instagram | Bluesky
In today’s edition:
In an exclusive interview with NewsGuard, a student falsely accused of being the Florida State University shooter describes what it is like to be at the center of an online frenzy amid a horrific tragedy. “It was terrifying,” he said.
A Kremlin disinformation campaign is now targeting Moldova’s pro-EU president Maia Sandu with fanciful claims of corruption, ranging from a purportedly lavish wardrobe to concocted allegations involving a supposed mistress.
Finally, the Milwaukee judge accused of illegally assisting an undocumented immigrant has become the target of AI mugshots painting her as unhinged and disheveled, shared by the likes of Alex Jones.
Today’s newsletter was edited by Sofia Rubinson and Eric Effron.
1. Innocent Bystander: A Student Wrongly Pegged as the Florida State University Shooter Details His ‘Terrifying’ Experience to NewsGuard
By Macrina Wang
Florida State University student Oliver Cheese, 20, was on the opposite end of campus when a gunman opened fire in the campus’ Student Union area on April 17, 2025, killing two people and injuring six. That didn’t stop fringe social media users from falsely accusing Cheese of being the shooter.
In an exclusive interview with NewsGuard, Cheese spoke about the experience of being falsely accused of a heinous crime in a social-media environment in which falsehoods and rumors so often outpace the truth. He also reflected on a polarized political environment in which partisans looking to advance their agenda reflexively seek to pin blame on the other side, without evidence to back up their claims.
“It was so jarring to realize because I’d seen it before, of course, every time that a tragedy like this happens, there are always those people who will try and spread misinformation for political gain,” Cheese, a progressive campus activist, told NewsGuard in an April 28, 2025, Zoom interview. “But it was terrifying to have it happen to me, to actually be the target of that, to know that the people out there thought that I was a murderer.”
Cheese, a sophomore studying economics and political science, said that when the shots rang out shortly after noon on April 17, he was in an environmental ethics class, a 15-minute walk from the site of the shooting. In those first minutes following the mass shooting and the ensuing panic, misinformation was running rampant as students and others tried to glean real-time information in group chats and on social media.
Many were circulating false images or claiming there were multiple shooters, Cheese said. Then, suddenly, he found himself at the center of the tragedy.
Conservative social media users circulated an old photo of Cheese, falsely identifying him as the shooter. The image, which quickly reached hundreds of thousands of users across X, Facebook, Threads, Telegram, and various forums, actually had been taken at a Jan. 14, 2025, protest against U.S. President Donald Trump, organized by the progressive student group Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society, a group that Cheese helps lead.
In the photo, Cheese is holding a sign with slogans including “Fight Trump and the GOP agenda!” “Stand with Palestine!” “Stop attacks on immigrants!” and “Defend women’s & LGBTQ rights!” Commentators cited this photo to claim that it depicted the suspected shooter and proved that the shooter was an anti-Trump radical leftist.
“It was a panicked rush,” Cheese recalled. “My parents were calling me, begging me basically to let them come up and take me back down to Tampa [Cheese’s hometown] because they thought my life was in danger. I, my parents, my friends were afraid people would try to assault me and try to kill me.”
In fact, in the hours after the attack, Leon County Sheriff’s Office identified the alleged shooter as FSU student Phoenix Ikner, the stepson of a local sheriff’s deputy. Ikner, a registered Republican and apparent Trump supporter, bears little physical resemblance to Cheese: Ikner has straight brown hair and a broader face, while Cheese has curly dark-blonde hair.
The confusion may have originated from a Jan. 19, 2025, article on campus news site FSUNews.com, which included the now-viral photo of Cheese at the protest as well as a quote from Ikner, who was merely an onlooker at the protest.
Cheese told NewsGuard that he considered taking legal action against the social media users who smeared him but decided that was impractical. “These people aren't associating their real names with these Twitter [X] accounts,” he said.
“The people I really feel bad for are the families of Rob Morales and Tiru Chabba,” Cheese said, referring to the university dining worker and campus vendor killed in the attack. “I really hurt when I think about all the people who were personally impacted by the tragedy, who after that see it being turned around and lied about by the far right.”
Become a Reality Check Member and Get These Exclusive Benefits
Want to get smarter about misinformation? Become a Reality Check Member today and you'll get:
A free copy of the definitive book on the misinformation crisis, The Death of Truth by bestselling author Steven Brill ($30 value)
Exclusive members-only content and digital briefings
Free access to NewsGuard's browser extension that shows reliability ratings for 10K+ news sites right in your browser ($25 value)
2. Russian Disinformation Campaign Targets Moldova’s Pro-EU President Ahead of Parliamentary Elections
By Eva Maitland
What happened: A Russian disinformation operation is targeting Moldova’s pro-Europe President Maia Sandu with claims of corruption ahead of the country’s September 2025 parliamentary elections.
Context: Moldova, which borders Ukraine, is highly polarized, with the electorate split between pro-Europe and pro-Russian factions.
Sandu, a vocal critic of Russia, was reelected to the presidency in 2024, narrowly defeating a pro-Kremlin candidate in an election that Moldovan authorities said was subjected to “massive” Russian interference.
A closer look: Since the September 2025 election was announced in the former Soviet republic, Matryohska, a Russian influence campaign known for creating fake videos and articles emulating credible news outlets, has been spreading false narratives about Sandu — ranging from her supposedly outrageously expensive wardrobe to tales of embezzling government funds to help an alleged mistress.
One image shared widely on social media showed a purported report by fashion magazine Vogue stating that Sandu is among the 10 most expensively dressed presidents in the world.
The image featured real photos of Sandu wearing various outfits, with captions claiming the outfits were purchased at Chanel and Giorgio Armani for tens of thousands of dollars. The image spread in English, Russian, Romanian, Czech, and Italian, with some sources suggesting that Sandu’s expensive wardrobe is evidence of corruption.
Actually: The image is a fabrication and was not published by Vogue, according to a NewsGuard review of the magazine’s site and social media accounts.
NewsGuard found via a reverse image search that the distinctive pleated grey dress that Sandu is seen wearing in one of the photographs was likely made by the British brand Karen Millen, which typically sells dresses costing around $250 — not a Chanel dress worth $39,000, as the image claimed.
A growing campaign: NewsGuard identified seven videos and images accusing Sandu of corruption originating in pro-Kremlin Telegram and X channels associated with Matryoshka.
They included a fabricated cover of The Economist claiming Sandu is the “most corrupt president of Eastern European states” and a supposed BBC video claiming that Sandu helped an alleged mistress steal $24 million in government funds.
Reality Check members can read NewsGuard’s Misinformation Fingerprints targeting Sandu here.
Click here to find out more about NewsGuard Trust Scores and our process for rating websites. You can download NewsGuard’s browser extension, which displays NewsGuard Trust Score icons next to links on search engines, social media feeds, and other platforms by clicking here.
3. Conservatives Spread AI-Generated Mugshots to Disparage Wisconsin Judge Arrested in Immigration Showdown
What happened: Conservative social media users are spreading AI-generated images supposedly showing jail booking photos for Wisconsin Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan, who was arrested in late April 2025 for allegedly helping an undocumented migrant evade federal immigration officers, depicting her as hysterical and unkempt.
Context: Dugan was arrested by FBI agents on April 25 and charged with two felonies for allegedly helping Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, an immigrant who re-entered the U.S. illegally in 2013 after a previous deportation, avoid arrest by immigration authorities, according to a federal complaint. Dugan had not entered a plea to those charges by May 1.
A closer look: Shortly after Dugan’s arrest, conservative social media users began sharing images that they presented as Dugan’s official mugshot, in an apparent attempt to disparage her. One image depicts Dugan in an orange prison jumpsuit, sobbing. The other shows her with a deep frown and a more heavy-set facial structure.
Conservative commentator David Harris Jr. posted the image of Dugan crying to his Facebook page with the caption: “Happy 'No one is above the law' day." Harris’ post received 4,900 reactions and 360 shares in three days.
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones acknowledged that the orange jumpsuit photo was AI-generated, but claimed the image of Dugan frowning was authentic. Jones shared the latter on X and stated: “Who knew goblins actually existed? The mugshot of activist judge Hannah Dugan crying and wearing orange was confirmed an AI generated picture. Her actual mugshot was released this morning. Lookin’ great Hannah!” The post garnered 187,800 views and 2,900 likes in two days.
Conservative commentator Gunther Eagleman posted the frowning photo on X with the caption, “He or she?” The post received 138,900 views and 1,500 likes in three days.
Actually: NewsGuard reviewed the images on AI detection tools Hive Media and SightEngine, which determined with nearly 100 percent certainty that the photos were AI-generated.
No booking photo for Dugan has been released. A spokesperson for the Milwaukee County courthouse where Dugan serves as well as FBI spokesperson Caroline Clancy told NewsGuard in April 29 emails that the U.S. Department of Justice prohibits the release of booking photos for defendants charged with federal crimes.
If you see something, say something
If you see or hear something that you think may be provably false, please alert NewsGuard via realitycheck@newsguardtech.com and we'll do our best to get to the bottom of it. Note: Tips should not include content that you simply disagree with, however strongly.
Reality Check is produced by Co-CEOs Steven Brill and Gordon Crovitz, and the NewsGuard team.
We launched Reality Check after seeing how much interest there is in our work beyond the business and tech communities that we serve. Subscribe to this newsletter to support our apolitical mission to counter misinformation for readers, brands, and democracies. Our work is more important than ever. Have feedback? Send us an email: realitycheck@newsguardtech.com.