A conspiracy theory about the security camera footage of Michael Brown shoplifting from a convenience store minutes before he was shot by a Ferguson police officer on Saturday is making the rounds on Twitter. It alleges the footage is more than two months old.
The theory, which seems largely contained to random users on Twitter, comes amid serious questions about the official record in the case.
Ferguson police released a report Friday that stated Brown was the “primary suspect” in the robbery of some cigars from a convenience store that occurred minutes before he was shot. It included a number of stills taken from the store’s security camera.
The Twitter theory alleges that the timestamp on the footage is from June 9, 2014 — not August 9, 2014, when the robbery allegedly occurred. In TPM’s own review of online postings of the images, it appears to be an 8 rather than a 6 as the theory alleges.
MSNBC also quoted an attorney for Dorian Johnson, who was with Brown at the time of the shooting, saying that Johnson had “told the FBI that they went into the store” that day.
Brown’s family has never denied that it was him in the video or that it showed footage from the day of the shooting, and a family attorney said at a Friday press conference that “it appears to look like him” in the video.
Below are some examples of the theory being advanced on Twitter.
#FergusonPD What the hell is your malfunction? This is from June 9th. Not August 9th. pic.twitter.com/mJbBn5MHG3
— нarry вelaғcĸdyoвтcн (@HitDaBoogieZ) August 15, 2014
The “robbery” surveillance pictures of “Michael Brown” are from JUNE 2014. Don’t be stupid. The media is yet again fooling you. #Ferguson
— SLiCK (@KING_CHARLESTON) August 15, 2014
Ferguson Police Department stole that footage from June 9th 2014 & tried to attach it to the case of Michael Brown. That’s low.
— BratYé (@DiaryofABrat) August 15, 2014
Someone with better eyes than me please #checkthedatestamp on the bottom left photo. Isn’t that JUNE? #Ferguson pic.twitter.com/PTNuxY2v5B
— Twice Sifted (@twice_sifted) August 15, 2014
THE DATE STATES JUNE 9 2014….THEY ARE PULLING UP OLD PICS@LEGALVIEW
@foxonfox
@AtThisHour
@OpFerguson
#Ferguson
— Calvin Warren (@majorproblems36) August 15, 2014
i dont understand the #mikebrown robbery pictures because the time stamp says it was in june #Ferguson
— maddy ✰✰ (@MADDYHiGHROLLER) August 15, 2014
Hey#Ferguson PD – the date stamp on those photos look to show JUNE 9 2014. You care to confirm or deny that?
— Carron LaForce (@carron) August 15, 2014
@FergusonUnity Looks like 2014-06-09 to me. As in June 9, 2014. Wtf?? #checkthedatestamp #Ferguson
— Andrew Shaman (@andrewshaman) August 15, 2014
There are even some variations of the theory.
Why does the camera log jump from June to August in 1 single frame? #Ferguson #MikeBrown pic.twitter.com/jiA3ErN51S
— Bouazizi (@uhreeb) August 15, 2014
You can view the footage, as posted by CBS, below.
Image via Ryan J. Reilly on Twitter.
This post has been updated.
