By Charlotte Hall

Copyright bbc

The case of mistaken identity has left Jacqui and Chris Ashley, owners of the Royton microbrewery, bar and coffee shop, feeling “stressed” and “fed up” after five days of trying to moderate comments and report Google reviews that “aren’t even aimed at them”.

“To be really honest, I didn’t even know who Charlie Kirk was until this all happened,” Ms Ashley told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

“I just woke up on Thursday morning and there were all of these horrible comments saying we’re ‘evil’ and ‘we hope your business burns down’.

“I spent my whole Thursday deleting comments as they came in. We hoped it would just blow over after a few days. But we’re on day five and they’re still coming.”

Ms Ashley, who has co-run the venue for eight years, says she has “no way of knowing” if the comments have affected business, but she is worried about fake reviews putting off potential customers.

The pub has appealed to local customers to carry on supporting them and bear their situation in mind when they see negative comments online.

The Courtyard Brewery in New Orleans was contacted for comment.