A dad has been incorrectly accused of being a pedophile on Facebook by a woman he doesn't know. The woman is now mortified and begging for forgiveness. Both say they are "devastated" by the events surrounding the misunderstanding.

The moral of the story: Don't post stupid things on social media.

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The whole debacle began innocently enough with a dad taking a "daggy" selfie of himself with a Darth Vader cut-out on Wednesday at a Melbourne shopping centre. It was his first selfie and he planned to send it to his children who are Star Wars fans. There happened to be some children nearby, who he spoke to — simply saying he wouldn't be a moment if they also wanted to take a photo.

The selfie. Image: Facebook

The mother of the children saw the man talking to them, took his photo and posted it on her Facebook account, calling him a "creep." In the hours that followed, the post quickly started to travel around the Internet and he became the target of vile Facebook trolls.

According to the Knox Leader, the man who has chosen to remain anonymous, became alerted to the issue when his phone started ringing constantly during a business meeting. Friends of the man had noticed his photo being shared online.

The dad headed straight to police, where they verified his story and cleared him of any wrongdoing. He told the publication on Friday he is absolutely embarrassed and devastated by what has happened. “I fully expected to come home to find my house torched or something worse,” he said.

He called on people to get their facts straight and rely on news organisations, rather than social media, for correct information to prevent a similar situation occurring again.

"People need to get their information from proper news sources rather than rely on drama queens who share things without thought on Facebook,” he said.

According to the Daily Mail, the man has been considering his legal options after the post was shared more than 20,000 times. 'We're a very strong, community-minded family and we've never had any issue with any form of impropriety and all of a sudden my name is smeared," he said. "I would like people to understand the perils of social media, especially unreliable and uncorroborated information."

The Facebook post by the mother. Image: Facebook

Now the volatile nature of social media has come back to haunt the woman who posted the incorrect photo. She said she has received death threats after making a "stupid" mistake. She apologised for the pain she has caused the father and urged people with concerns about strangers to go to police, instead of using social media.

“I just need to say sorry ... for not letting [the police] do their job, and putting my concerns on social media,” she told the Knox Leader on Monday. “I should not have put any picture on any social media, even if I thought it was private ... One thousand times over I wish I could just take it back."

The mother said she was shocked at the speed the post was shared, and urged others to think before they post. "I think the biggest lesson out of it all is not to post anything that could hurt anybody on any media."