Research/Study
The Apalachee High School shooter reportedly complained that trans people are accepted in society. Right-wing media claimed the shooter was trans.
Fringe accounts began claiming the shooter was trans just hours after the tragedy was reported. Prominent influencers followed.
Published
On September 4, 14-year-old suspect Colt Gray allegedly killed two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School in what has become Georgia’s deadliest school shooting. Continuing a familiar trend, fringe right-wing accounts almost immediately began claiming without evidence that the shooter was trans.
Prominent right-wing media influencers followed suit, apparently misinterpreting a CNN report about the suspect’s online activity to baselessly claim that the suspect was “another trans shooter” and “motivated by trans activism."