Debunking 3 Viral Rumors About the Texas Shooting - The New York Times - 0 views
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Here are three of the most prominent rumors that have spread on online platforms such as Twitter, Gab, 4chan and Reddit.
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Among their unfounded claims were that the shooting had been orchestrated to draw local law enforcement away from the border, allowing criminals and drugs to cross into the United States, and that gun-control advocates had organized the tragedy to stoke public outrage.
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he conspiracy theorist and broadcaster Alex Jones of Infowars has lied for years that the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., was staged by the federal government, with people pretending to be survivors and victims’ parents. Last year, Mr. Jones lost four defamation lawsuits filed by victims’ families, many of whom have been harassed by his believers.
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Hours after the attack, a post on the fringe online message board 4chan circulated claiming that the gunman was transgender.
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where people falsely claimed that the shooting was a result of hormone therapy undertaken by the gunman.
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“There is an overwhelming number of individuals who are posting images of this person, who was the shooter, and information about the nature of them being transgender,”
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On Tuesday, a transgender artist said on Reddit that people online “just took my photos and used it to spread misinformation.”
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False claims that the gunman was born outside the United States began to circulate within hours of the shooting. Spread largely on white nationalist Telegram channels and Gab accounts, the claims alleged that he was an undocumented immigrant in the United States, even after authorities including Roland Gutierrez, a Texas state senator, confirmed that the gunman was born in North Dakota.
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“Did he cross the border illegally?” Code of Vets, a veterans organization, posted on Twitter. “Our nation has a serious national security crisis evolving.”