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On Thursday, the Associated Press reported that the Uvalde, Texas school shooting is already triggering an avalanche of "horrifying" conspiracy theories across the internet.
"Unfounded claims that the gunman was an immigrant living in the U.S. illegally, or transgender, quickly emerged on Twitter, Reddit and other social media platforms. They were accompanied by familiar conspiracy theories suggesting the entire shooting was somehow staged," said the AP. "The claims reflect broader problems with racism and intolerance toward transgender people, and are an effort to blame the shooting on minority groups who already endure higher rates of online harassment and hate crimes, according to disinformation expert Jaime Longoria."
"In the hours after the shooting, posts falsely claiming the gunman was living in the country illegally went viral, with some users adding embellishments, including that he was 'on the run from Border Patrol,'" continued the report. "'He was an illegal alien wanted for murder from El Salvador,' read one tweet liked and retweeted hundreds of times. 'This is blood on Biden’s hands and should have never happened.'"
In reality, the shooter was born in North Dakota and lived in Uvalde.
"Other social media users seized on images of innocent internet users to falsely identify them as the gunman and claim he was transgender," added the report. "On the online message board 4Chan, users liberally shared the photos and discussed a plan to label the gunman as transgender, without any evidence to back it up."
While many sources have debunked these claims, many of them have still spread quickly.
For example, the transgender hoax was shared by Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) and by a legislative candidate in Maine who even claimed he was "brainwashed" by "liberal teachers."
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Actor Kevin Spacey as been charged with four counts of sexual assault against three men in the UK, CNN reports.
Spacey was also charged with one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent, according to Britain's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). The incidents allegedly took place in London in 2005 and 2008, and in Gloucestershire, western England, in 2013.
As CNN reports, London's Metropolitan Police says it decided to charge the actor after "a review of the evidence gathered" against him by the department.
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'Republicans could be in trouble in Michigan' as poll shows them out of step on Trump and abortion: report
May 26, 2022
The Detroit Metro Times is reporting that "Republicans could be in trouble in Michigan" thanks to a new poll showing them out of step with voters on subject like abortions and claims about mass voter fraud in the 2020 election.
An EPIC-MRA poll of 600 people between May 11 and 17 found that 63% said they disagree with the Supreme Court’s draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade, with only 26% of voters said they support overturning it.
As the Metro Times points out, many Michigan Republicans are running on platforms that oppose all forms of abortion. The poll found that 57 percent of likely voters identify as pro-choice, and 33 percent are pro-life. An additional 10 percent are undecided.
In regards to the 2020 election, the poll found that only 27 percent of likely voters believe Joe Biden stole the election from Donald Trump, while 61 percent believe Biden won fairly. About 12 percent are undecided.
President Joe Biden is also unpopular in the state, however, as 52 percent of voters surveyed had an unfavorable opinion of him.
Read the full report over at the Detroit Metro Times.
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