[IMC] Black Panther Richard Aoki online scandal

[Raymond Morales]

I thought this might be interesting given its potential ramifications on
relationships amongst various communities. There is  a bizarre claim that
Richard *Masato *Aoki was an FBI informant that was used to give the Black
Panthers their first weapons. It is a shallow claim with no primary
evidence to support it other than a FOIA used in a book that has a "Richard
*Matsui *Aoki" listed. While it would certainly be possible for them to
have committed a typo, the two names are phonetically distinct. This leaves
the word of a deceased FBI agent handler as the sole remaining evidence.

In my estimation, until there is hard evidence, it is just a cheap trick
used to sell books. For those who are interested:

Rebuttal:
http://sfbayview.com/2012/fred-ho-refutes-the-claim-that-richard-aoki-was-an-fbi-informant/


First Article:
http://www.baycitizen.org/crime/story/man-who-armed-black-panthers-was-fbi/

Although this may prove to be true in the long run, the moral of the story
is to be weary of the Internet and all its glory. It is super easy to
spread something sensational on the Internet without a single piece of hard
evidence.

Best,
Ray
MD/PhD Candidate in Biochemistry
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Executive Producer & Host, The Show
www.theshow1045.com

Station Manager
WRFU-LP, URBANA 104.5 FM
www.wrfu.net
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