Hideo Kojima: Legendary games designer considering legal action after false assassin claims
Posts linking Metal Gear Solid creator with death of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe spread rapidly across the internet
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
Hideo Kojima, the legendary games designer, is considering legal action after being falsely accused of being an assassin.
In recent days, claims have spread across the internet that linked Mr Kojima with the assassination of Shinzo Abe, the former Japanese prime minister who was shot in public last week.
The claims appear to have begun with racist trolls, who posted them apparently knowing them to be false. But they quickly took off across the internet, with some seemingly sharing them believing them to be true.
The posts appear to have started on controversial forum 4chan. There, users shared pictures of Mr Kojima and labelled him as a “left-wing extremist” and suggested he had a criminal record, in what appeared to be an intentionally false claim.
However, they were then shared by many others including French politician Damien Rieu. Mr Rieu later said on Twitter that he had “naively” mistaken a joke post for real information, and apologised to Mr Kojima and to fans of his games.
The claims were also broadcast on European news television. Many of those original reports have since been deleted.
Mr Kojima now says he is considering legal action against some of those who made the claims. He made the announcement through his production company, Kojima Productions.
“Kojima Productions strongly condemns the spread of fake news and rumors that convey false information,” the production company said in a tweet. “We do not tolerate such libel and will consider taking legal action in some cases.”
Mr Kojima is famous for the creation of a number of games, including the Metal Gear Solid series. In 2015, he separated from Konami, where he had done much of his work, and founded Kojima Productions as an independent company.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments