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When Steve Geppi Shared Fake News About Violent Anti-Trump Protestors

Fake news is in the news. Stories that are utterly invented by partisan websites and then shared via social media so that they dominate or infect the conversation. And blamed not just for charging results but for ramping up the invective. And when the person or people who share these stories are important, respected, trusted people, that just takes it up a notch.

Such as when Steve Geppi, President and owner of Diamond Comic Distributors, the company that has a monopoly on providing Marvel, DC, Image, Dark Horse, IDW and many more comic books to the direct market of comic book stores, decided to share openly on Facebook, the following story from Christian Times Newspaper.

Protests against President-elect Donald Trump turned violent in a Philadelphia neighborhood Friday night, and they left one homeless veteran fighting for his life on a night when the nation was celebrating his service.  And it was all captured on surveillance video.

 Mark Rolfe, 51, passed away early Saturday morning from injuries sustained when he was attacked by a group of protesters outside of a Sunoco gas station in the Olney neighborhood of North Philadelphia.  Rolfe was a veteran of the United States Army, serving one tour in the first Gulf War and one tour in Afghanistan.

According to eyewitness reports, Rolfe was attacked by a group of young adults who were out protesting the election of Donald Trump.  The group of protesters, who have not been identified, were attempting to set fire to an American flag when Rolfe yelled at them to stop.  The protesters responded by attacking the homeless veteran with a hammer, a piece of wood, and a table leg.

Snopes investigated, saying,

he video does show a real attack, but, as the time stamp indicates, it did not take place in 2016 and couldn't have had anything to do with anti-Trump protests following the 8 November election.

The brutal beating occurred on 7 April 2015, when a group of people exited a minivan and attacked a homeless man at a service station. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, it was prompted by a disagreement earlier in the day over who would pump gas next

The Christian Times Newspaper site removed the story. We're not entirely sure why, as it is a fake site and nothing to do with the similarly titled Christian Times site and publication. But Steve did see the error of his ways, updating his post….


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Rich JohnstonAbout Rich Johnston

Founder of Bleeding Cool. The longest-serving digital news reporter in the world, since 1992. Author of The Flying Friar, Holed Up, The Avengefuls, Doctor Who: Room With A Deja Vu, The Many Murders Of Miss Cranbourne, Chase Variant. Lives in South-West London, works from Blacks on Dean Street, shops at Piranha Comics. Father of two. Political cartoonist.
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