The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a terror threat bulletin Tuesday warning that online forums harboring domestic violent extremist content and conspiracy theories have encouraged copycat attacks in the wake of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
Analysts from DHS' Office of Intelligence & Analysis assess that these online platforms have also "seized on the event to attempt to spread disinformation and incite grievances, including claims it was a government-staged event meant to advance gun control measures."
As analysts probe recent tragedies in search of common factors or motives, researchers have uncovered a disturbing trend among gunmen of fatal mass shootings, nationwide.
Since 2018, six of the nine deadliest mass shootings in the United States have been carried out by gunmen 21 years of age or younger.
"With individuals who are younger in age, committing these attacks, we think — and this is something we're still looking at — access to content online is really fueling those personal grievances and often inaccurate misperceptions about current events," a senior homeland security official told reporters during a briefing this week. "It's really difficult for younger individuals to navigate the internet and understand what is considered to be credible information that they're consuming."
Among the conspiracy theories inspiring grievances is an unfounded notion of "great replacement" or "white genocide" that falsely claims,...
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