Some accounts falsely linked the attack to Islamist terrorism, while others identified the wrong man, with the error repeated by a TV network
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The police operation in Bondi Junction was still under way on Saturday as false claims about the attacker’s motivations and identity began to circulate online.
Police said on Sunday they had no indication that the stabbing spree committed by Queensland man Joel Cauchi was motivated by a particular belief system – but that didn’t stop speculation spreading on social media that the assailant was motivated by a variety of religious or political ideologies.