'Sam Hyde' internet hoax resurfaces after Vegas Cybertruck explosion

Bill MCCARTHY / AFP USA
·3-min read

A long-running internet hoax centered around scapegoating comedian Sam Hyde for mass casualty events resurfaced in social media posts following the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas. But the claims pinning the incident on "Samaar Hydalla," a purported visa holder from Pakistan, are false; authorities identified the man in the vehicle as Matthew Livelsberger, a US special forces soldier.

"The man who blew up the cybertruck in front of Trump Las Vegas, has been identified as Samaar Hydalla. An H1-B Visa holder from Pakistan," says a January 1, 2025 post on X.

An attached image shows what appears to be a visa issued by the United States to a glasses-wearing man. The man's name and other identifying information are blacked out.

<span>Screenshot from X taken January 3, 2024</span>
Screenshot from X taken January 3, 2024

Similar posts spread across X and Facebook after a Tesla Cybertruck pulled up in front of the glass entrance to President-elect Donald Trump's hotel in Las Vegas and blew up, wounding seven people. Some posts cited Grok, the artificial intelligence chatbot linked to X owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

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The posts follow a bitter debate at the close of 2024 over the H-1B visa program, which allows companies to bring highly skilled foreign workers into the country, between traditional Trump supporters bent on fully shutting down America's borders and tech barons including top Trump surrogate Musk, who himself came to the United States via the temporary employment program.

But authorities on January 2, 2025 identified the driver of the exploded Cybertruck as Matthew Livelsberger, saying he shot himself in the head before the rented vehicle filled with fuel containers and fireworks burst into flames.

The 37-year-old was a member of the elite Green Berets, officials said. Livelsberger's body was burned beyond recognition but he was identified through his military ID, passport and credit cards. A motive had not yet been determined as of January 3.

"Samaar Hydalla," meanwhile, appears to reference Sam Hyde, a provocative comic and member of the sketch group Million Dollar Extreme who has been described in US media reports as alt-right.

Hyde is commonly blamed online for mass shootings and other tragedies as part of a hoax popularized as a meme on 4chan, a fringe message board.

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A facial recognition tool matched the face on the supposed "Samaar Hydalla" visa to known photos of Hyde.

Reverse image searches revealed the fake visa is an altered version of a mock-up posted on US government websites and the social media pages of several US embassies and consulates (archived here, here, here, here and here).

The original sample visa has the same identification codes but shows a woman's face, not Hyde's.

Misinformation and hoaxes misidentifying perpetrators frequently circulate in the wake of crisis situations, as information gaps leave room for false claims to fill the vacuum.

AFP has previously debunked similar attempts to falsely link Hyde to other events, sometimes while using other variations of his name such as "Samantha Hyde."

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