Disinformation On 4chan Identified School Shooter As A Trans Woman And A Congressman Shared It

A false narrative promoted on 4chan yesterday identified the school shooter at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas as a trans woman who lives in another state, and used photos from her public social media profiles as attempted proof. Shortly after, Paul Gosar (R-AZ) a United States Congressman, spread the misinformation in a now-deleted tweet.

Paul Gosar is exactly the person I thought he was. Confirmation was not necessary but oh so enlightening.
Sweet dreams, comrades.

— Deb of Candycorn😎😁🤗😒🤔 (@DThomas68104) May 25, 2022

4chan users / right wingers are sharing pictures of an innocent trans person they found on Reddit and are falsely claiming that they are the Uvalde school shooter pic.twitter.com/ds4uL9o3F4

— Matt Binder (@MattBinder) May 24, 2022

The woman depicted in the photos posted a picture of herself on Reddit afterward with the caption “it’s not me, I don’t even live in texas” and described the harassment she has been subjected to after the false story circulated. Strong tones of anti-trans and anti-immigrant bias and hate colored the commentary of both Gosar and the 4chan users who spread the false story.

Many thought Gosar’s behavior and language were inappropriate, with some calling for him to resign. Congressman Gosar deleted his tweet a few hours after posting it.

This also isn’t the first time the conservative Republican’s posting has gotten him in trouble. In 2021, after posting a violent anime clip that depicted him killing Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Gosar was stripped of his committee assignments, excluding him from much of the actual lawmaking that goes on in Congress.

Paul Gosar must be expelled from the House immediately. This white supremacist insurrection-planner and inciter who is in late stages of a degenerative health condition is profoundly unfit for public office. The shooter was an American citizen who was neither illegal or trans. pic.twitter.com/sNAviG8iAg

— Andrew Wortman 🏳️‍🌈🇺🇦🇺🇸 (@AmoneyResists) May 25, 2022

Paul Gosar finally deleted this tweet, but that doesn’t excuse his abhorrent actions. Do not let him live this down. https://t.co/lxxgXHBsSg

— trapezoid of discovery (@get_innocuous) May 25, 2022

Commentators called out Twitter for not acting rapidly enough to neutralize the misinformation, arguing the safety of the woman misidentified as the shooter may have been threatened.

Twitter failing to implement safety protocols around the Uvalde shooting to prevent misinformation is a scandal. We've watched a 4chan pushed disinformation campaign leap from the fringes to a congressman in real time with no intervention by Twitter moderation.

— Alejandra Caraballo 🏳️‍⚧️🇵🇷 (@Esqueer_) May 25, 2022

Others criticized forums like 4chan and Reddit, in a thread of argument reminiscent of discussions around the Buffalo supermarket shooting last week.

i don’t mean to sound like an old hag but the internet is so sinister when it comes to where these teenage boys are digitally hanging out… something needs to also be done about what can be divulged on sites like reddit, 4chan, and discord.

— beck (@katesharmas) May 24, 2022