There’s no evidence to support baseless claims that the mass shooting in a Brooklyn subway was a staged event. The attack was real.
Hours after a gunman opened fire on a crowded subway train during morning rush hour in Brooklyn, New York, some people logged onto social media to falsely claim that the attack was staged, or what many call a "false flag" operation.
"Biden gives a gun grabbing speech yesterday, when NO ONE was talking about guns, and voila! FALSE FLAG," someone tweeted, sharing a story about the shooting.
"The guy fired 33 rounds in a crowded subway car and hit 10 people. No deaths, and the cameras just HAPPENED to not be functioning, and the guy ‘got away’. This has EVERY marking of a False Flag," another said.
Other reasons social media users used to claim that the attack was fake include bogus claims of crisis actors and "fake blood."
"False flags" are supposed covert operations designed to deflect blame and are frequently the subject of conspiracy theories.
Posts making these claims were flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
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