Image of Canadian Sikh man photoshopped to look like terrorist linked to Paris attacks

A Sikh man from Canada found himself at the center of unwanted attention after a bathroom selfie he took was doctored to make him look like one of the suicide bombers involved in the Paris attacks and then spread in the media.

The digitally altered image of Veerender Jubbal showed him wearing what looked like a suicide vest and holding a Quran. It appeared on the front-page of one of Spain’s largest newspapers, La Razon.

It was subsequently picked up by two Italian newspapers and an Italian TV channel with nearly 2 million followers.

“One of the terrorists may have entered Greece along with Syrian refugees. The unidentified attackers were between 15 and 18 years and acted in three teams,” read the text by the image of Jubbal. La Razon apologized on Sunday afternoon.

The original image of Jubbal is an innocent bathroom selfie made with an iPad.

In an attempt to remedy the damage caused by the doctored image, Jubbal launched an online campaign to clear his name.

“This whole thing puts me in a bad position in the sense, where I could be harmed and/or hurt due to this. This is libel from news, and TV,” Jubbal tweeted.

Although it is still unclear who edited Jubbal’s photo or why, there are reports suggesting a link to the Gamergate movement that Jubbal has heavily criticized in the past.

The Gamergate controversy dates back to August 2014 and concerns issues of sexism and misogyny in video game culture. It has provoked a long-running debate marked with abuse and accusations from both sides.

The Canadian has by now received dozens of messages of support on Twitter condemning the bullies who photoshopped his photo and spread it online.