A Sydney university student, Benjamin Cohen, and his family were thrown into turmoil after he was wrongly identified as the perpetrator of the fatal stabbing spree at Bondi Junction.

Joel Cauchi, 40, was named by police as the actual assailant after killing six people at the busy Sydney shopping mall on Saturday. 

However, antisemitic online trolls erroneously pinned the blame on Cohen.

The misidentification gained traction on social media platforms like X, with individuals such as Maram Susli, known online as Syrian Girl, and Simeon Boikov, known as Aussie Cossack, wrongly implicating Cohen in the attack without evidence.

It turns out Benjamin Cohen’s only crime was that he was Jewish

I hope he sues every antisemite who lied about him, starting with Aussie Cossack, Syrian Girl, Jake Sheilds and Mohammad Hijab

— Avi Yemini (@OzraeliAvi) April 13, 2024

Susli speculated early on – without any evidence – that the murderer may have been Israeli.

Boikov lent credence to the damaging false reports by claiming Cohen really did 'look like' the attacker.

''We haven't even started and people are already throwing money at us.'' Simeon Boikov and Maram Susli already grifting thousands off the back of defaming a random Australian Jewish uni student and falsely accusing him of stabbing 6 people to death.
Begging for funds to fight… pic.twitter.com/6EaE80A5Lo

— Drew Pavlou 🇦🇺🇺🇦🇹🇼🇨🇾 (@DrewPavlou) April 14, 2024

Former UFC fighter Jake Shields joined neo-Nazi Thomas Sewell, adding to a chorus of false accusations and antisemitic remarks, amplifying the false claims that a 'Jew' had committed the horrific attack.

Neo-Nazi accounts Jake Shields, Lucas Gage and Thomas Sewell can all be joined onto the defamation action too. pic.twitter.com/j6iGpBdfi2

— Drew Pavlou 🇦🇺🇺🇦🇹🇼🇨🇾 (@DrewPavlou) April 14, 2024

Even the mainstream media amplified the false claims with Australia’s Channel Seven news incorrectly naming Cohen as the murderer, seemingly relying on the erroneous social media reports.

Cohen, expressing concern over the dangers of such baseless accusations, highlighted the potential harm they can inflict on innocent lives.

He slammed the wrongful accusations as 'very dangerous' noting they could 'destroy people's lives'.

"People don't really think too hard about what they're posting and how it might affect someone. It's very dangerous how people could just make stuff up and destroy people's lives," he told media.

Meanwhile, the real perpetrator, Cauchi, was confronted and neutralised by NSW Police Inspector Amy Scott, who heroically intervened during the violent incident.