Did Fox News really call University of North Carolina shooter ‘mostly white Asian male’?

A Fox News spokesperson told the fact checking site Politifact that the chyron was “fake and never aired”.

Updated on: Aug 31, 2023, 11:55:05 IST

By HT News Desk

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Since the August 28 fatal shooting in North Carolina, an image of the alleged shooter has gone viral on various social media platform in which an alleged Fox News chyron is shared with the description: “Shooter described as ‘mostly white Asian male’."

Tailei Qi, the graduate student suspected in the fatal shooting of a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty member, center, makes his first appearance at the Orange County Courthouse in Hillsborough, N.C., Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023. Qi has been charged by the UNC Police Department with first-degree murder and possession of a weapon on educational property, both felony charges. (Source: AP) (AP)

The image is false and has been fact checked by several fact checkers including Politifact.

A Fox News spokesperson told the fact checking site that the chyron was “fake and never aired”.

Several users however shared the fake chyron

The fake chyron refers to Tailei QI who was charged with first-degree murder of a faculty member.

As per the University's website, UNC Police were notified of shooting happening in Caudill Laboratories on the campus, at 1:02 p.m. on Monday. Police issued an “all clear” to campus at approximately 4:15 p.m.

"I am devastated and saddened by today’s shooting in one of our campus buildings, a place where we conduct our important work of teaching, mentoring and research every day. This shooting damages the trust and safety that we so often take for granted on our campus. We will work to rebuild that trust and safety," read a message from UNC Chancellor Kevin M. Guskiewicz.

Tailei Qi is a PhD student at UNC at Chapel Hill, and according to his LinkedIn profile has a master’s degree in science from Louisiana State University and before that he studied in Wuhan University in China.

His LinkedIn profile reads: "Tailei Qi is a graduate student at the department of applied physical sciences, UNC at Chapel Hill. He works on the optically trapped nanoparticle arrays and all kinds of their related fascinating phenomena.”

One of his social media posts seem to indicate the shooter was lonely. of his posts on social media platform "X"(formerly Twitter) read: "would like to make some new friends. I am a second-year PhD student, interested in nanoparticle synthesis, optical trapping, self-assembly, spectra analysis, and ML. a bit stupid in daily trifles, very enthusiastic talking about research.”

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HT News Desk
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