A Spanish newspaper mistakenly identified a Sikh Canadian man as “one of the terrorists” behind the Paris attacks after a doctored image went viral online.

La Razón newspaper apologized for printing Veerender Jubbal’s photo on its Nov. 15 front page with the caption “one of the terrorists.”

Jubbal, a 21-year-old from Brampton, said the “past 48 hours have been deeply disturbing” in a statement to the Star.

He highlighted the broader impact of the image going viral for the Sikh community, which he says has “faced significant violence and discrimination” in the aftermath of major terrorist attacks such as the one on Friday.

“I ask that the media outlets that ran my image immediately retract my photo and apologize, but also take the time to learn and educate their readers about the Sikh faith,” he continued.

The original image, which Jubbal shared on Twitter in August, shows him taking a selfie with an iPad in front of a bathroom mirror. The edited image appears to show Jubbal holding a Quran and wearing a vest laden with explosives, with a sex toy in the background.

“When we paint entire faiths and communities with the same brushstroke, we further give terrorists exactly what they want,” Jubbal said in Monday’s statement.

“This false image is an opportunity for all of us to hopefully grow together in our shared understanding for one another.”

Jubbal’s doctored image was also shared by Italian television channel and Fox affiliate Sky TG24, with the caption: “ISIS sent a photo of the alleged kamikaze.”

Twitter user @Danchrism pointed out the obvious flaw in the edited image.

“This should have all fallen apart instantly,” he wrote. “If he's holding the Quran, what the hell took the picture?”

The image was created and tweeted as early as Aug. 15 this year.

Now-suspended Twitter user @abutalut8 and accounts supposedly affiliated with the Islamic State began sharing the photo with the caption: “BREAKING, one Islamic State attacker in #ParisAttacks was a sikh convert to Islam.”

“People are editing, and photoshopping my selfies as if I am one of the people causing the issues/problems in Paris,” Jubbal said in a Saturday Twitter post that received more than 3,000 retweets.

“Let us start with the basics. Never been to Paris. Am a Sikh dude with a turban. Lives in Canada,” he tweeted.

He posted that his family in India phoned to say they had seen it in the India Times and he was currently contemplating whether to sue.

“This whole thing puts me in a bad position in the sense, where I could be harmed and/or hurt due to this,” he continued.

Jubbal suggested on Twitter the photo was doctored because of his criticism of Gamergate, a tumultuous feud amongst the gaming community. He recently tweeted: “Gamers are absolute garbage like I have been saying for a full year. People will not stop harassing, and bothering me. I am cute as gosh.”

Simran Jeet Singh, senior religion fellow at the Sikh Coalition, knows Jubbal personally.

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He commended Jubbal’s “impressive maturity” for someone his age.

“The way he champions and expresses issues of racism and discrimination is both effective and courageous. The communities he is addressing can be incredibly vicious. For him to consistently speak out against prejudice is commendable,” he said.

Where the Paris attacks happened

Jubbal is not the only person who has been misidentified as playing a role in the Paris attacks, which killed 129 people and injured hundreds of others on Friday.

An Egyptian man was initially declared a suspect in media reports after his passport was found near the body of one of the alleged assailants. He was later confirmed to be a victim after he was found injured in a hospital.

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