TikTok sleuths target 3 innocent women after racist rant at pizzeria goes viral

A Philadelphia woman who was caught on video ranting against a pizzeria owner because the parlor's TV was tuned to a Spanish-language station has been charged with a hate crime, according to police. But in the lead up to her being exposed, three other women were misidentified by social media sleuths as being the culprit, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Rita Bellew, 55, was charged with misdemeanor counts of ethnic intimidation and harassment. But Candice Bogar, who was not involved, has been dealing with people calling her a bigot after being named on TikTok by people who thought she was the one in the video.

“This was hate I’ve never been exposed to before,” said Bogar, 55, the president of an accounting firm.

Several Twitter and TikTok accounts named Bogar, along with Sally Poppert and Tracey Gaida — all who have nothing in common with Bellew other than being blonde accountants employed in Montgomery County, PA. The woman endured threatening phone calls and emails that left them wondering if they would lose their jobs and reputations, the Inquirer reported.

The Hatboro Police Department issued two warnings to people harassing the women, and the restaurant where the incident took place, Amy’s Family Pizzeria, also called on people to “stop accusing innocent people” of racism.

"The hunt for Bellew and its unintended consequences reveal the precarity of digital vigilantism, where content creators must balance disillusionment with systems of power and a desire for accountability onthe internet, which tends to reward speed and ease over accuracy," The Inquirer reported.

One of the TikTok accounts involved in the doxxing blocked The Inquirer from messaging it after the outlet reached out for comment. After @thereelsizzle learned that Bogar wasn’t the woman in the video, the account then posted videos doxxing Poppert and Gaida, who both work for the same company as Bogar. Gaida said phones at her work were “ringing off the hook” the morning of Feb. 24. She then started to receive Facebook messages with “just the word 'racist' written back-to-back.” Reviews for her employer started to come in, claiming the company employed bigots.

Read the full report over at The Philadelphia Inquirer.