Fact check: Are the viral fight videos linked to Nolan Wells real? Here’s the truth

Crime in the United States is nothing unusual. But what attracts public attention among thousands of deaths regered in the US daily depends on how public sentiment builds around it. The death of 18-year-old Mississippi teen Nolan Wells in Horn Island is one such case behind which public sentiment has been rallying hard for the last few weeks.Diagrams depicting Nolan Wells’ body parts are displayed during the announcement of the results of an independent autopsy at the NAACP Convention in Chicago on July 22. (REUTERS)The case has been highly contested as the family of the teen, led civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, has challenged the coroner’s branding of the official cause of death as drowning. Accordingly, the family conducted an independent autopsy, the results of which were released last Tuesday at the NAACP. Its results were also inconclusive.Amid the legal deadlock, which is set to be resolved in the coming days, social media has become rife with misinformation about the case, often framing it as an allegedly racially motivated murder. The latest in the misinformation campaign is a video of a fight between teens that was made viral as purportedly of Nolan Wells and his friends.Also read: Nolan Wells update: DA explains why evidence is being kept secret, ‘If we sacrifice…’Fact-Checking Viral VideosSocial media searches reveal that at least two videos are viral, falsely claiming to be of Nolan Wells being involved in a fight before his disappearance in Horn Island. Much in line with the racial undertones in many of the posts, the video, which is blurry in many places with the faces not clearly identifiable, shows a black teen being beaten up a group of white teens.However, Ht.com can confirm that the videos are being falsely attributed to Nolan Wells. As of now, no confirmed video of Nolan Wells being involved in a fight has surfaced on social media.For context, Nolan Wells’ last known video shows him in a heated altercation with a group of friends on a yacht, Rollin Stones had reported. No other video of Wells with his friends has been published.Also read: Nolan Wells update: Family’s fears over missing phone content deepen as ‘best friend’ breaks silenceAudio Call of 911 Response For Nolan Wells In Horn Island PublishedOn Saturday, the dispatch audio from Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (MDMR) to recover Nolan Wells in Horn Island on July 4 was reported on local news outlet WLOX. The dispatch call is from around 4pm CDT and it reportedly recorded a teen on a boat in Horn Island notifying emergency about their boat sinking.“Hey we’re at the west tip of Horn, and our bilge pump stopped working. We’re sinking. Can y’all please come?” the teel reportedly tells the Sea Tow dispatcher on the call. Sea Tow is a private towing company. The teen then tells the dispatcher that water is coming up on the boat, but everyone else on the boat is “in good health otherwise”.