• In the wake of the Uvalde mas shooting, disinformation about the identity of the shooter began to spread.
• GOP Rep. Paul Gosar spread the false claim that the shooter was a "transexual leftist illegal alien."
• The claim spread from 4Chan to be pushed by right-wing influencers.

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In the hours after the mass shooting in an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children and 2 adults dead, rumors and disinformation about the shooter began to spread.

Among them was the claim promoted by Republican Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar in a now-deleted tweet that the shooter was a "transexual leftist illegal alien named Salvatore Ramos."

The post was wrong on all counts, including the name, which was Salvador not Salvatore.

—Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) May 25, 2022

The claim originated on 4chan, a largely unmoderated messaging board and online hub popular with far-right extremists.

The way it spread from fringe websites to the social-media feeds of public figures with millions of followers is emblematic of the way far-right disinformation travels online.

Insider contacted Gosar's representatives for an explanation of how he made the claim, but did not immediately...

Read Full Story: https://www.businessinsider.com/texas-false-shooter-trans-id-began-on-4chan-s...