Washington (United States) (AFP) – One message told him to "go to hell." Others said he deserved to be imprisoned. Death threats poured in.

Asians who share a name with one of the men accused of raping a US university student have faced a torrent of online abuse.

The alleged 2024 gang rape of a Cornell University student, detailed in a recent lawsuit, has sparked an outpouring of outrage against the seven accused perpetrators. The case has sent internet sleuths scouring digital footprints for clues to track them down.

One of the accused is a Korean man identified by US media as Winston Lee.

The problem is that the world is full of people named Winston Lee.

The rage misdirected at people who share that name, some of whom live outside the United States and look nothing like the accused, lays bare the perils of a chaotic internet, where people distrustful of public institutions become digital detectives.

One of those wrongly identified was a Chinese American whose LinkedIn profile identifies him as a New York-based finance professional who graduated from Cornell University in 2020 -- four years before the alleged rape.

"You can't hide. Your future is over," said one message he received via LinkedIn.

"You'll get exactly what you deserve...which is prison!! You'll be gang raped there."

Another said that a "black magic" spell had been cast upon him.

In a video on TikTok -- where his bio reads "Not part of Cornell7" -- he said he had hired a lawyer to press charges against a woman who posted his phone number and his parents' address online.

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