In this image from the video uplink from the detention center to the courtroom, Dylann Roof appears at Centralized Bond Hearing Court June 19, 2015 in North Charleston, South Carolina. (Getty)
A rumor began to circulate on social media on Thursday that racist Charleston, South Carolina, church shooting suspect Dylann Roof has received $4 million in donations for his legal defense fund.
But the story is a hoax. It was first posted on a fake news website, News Watch 33, and began to spread on Twitter and Facebook.
The story says the funds for Dylann Roof are being collected and managed by a website called Citizens For White Rights, which does not appear to exist and is not a registered charity.
The website posted a screenshot that they say came from the charity and proves the donations have really been made, along with a statement from the groups supposed leader:
(Screenshot from News Watch 33)
Roof, who is accused of murdering 9 churchgoers at the historic Emanuel AME Church in Charleston during a bible study.
He posted a manifesto online that claimed as inspiration a website called the Council of Conservative Citizens, which posts news stories about a supposed rise in black on white crime. The group has said it does not condone Roof’s actions, and has not said it is raising money for his defense. Roof’s family has also not publicly mentioned anything about donations.
The story has also been debunked by the website Snopes.com.
But that hasn’t stopped the story from being retweeted thousands of times and shared on Facebook.
Roof is being held without bail on the murder charges and on $1 million bail on a lesser gun charge. He faces the death penalty if convicted.
