That's incorrect. Rutherford's famous gold foil experiment actually led him to propose that the center of the atom, which he named the nucleus, was positively charged.

Here's why:

* The Experiment: Rutherford fired alpha particles (positively charged) at a thin sheet of gold foil. Most of the particles passed straight through, but some were deflected at large angles, and a few even bounced back.

* The Interpretation: The large deflections and rebounds suggested a concentrated, positive charge within the atom, which repelled the positively charged alpha particles. He concluded that the atom's positive charge resided in a small, dense region at its center, which he named the nucleus.

This discovery revolutionized our understanding of the atom, paving the way for the development of the modern atomic model.