The Uvalde shooting conspiracies show how far-right misinformation is evolving
On Gab and Telegram and other fringe platforms where the far right gather, many asserted without evidence that it was a "false flag" operation staged by federal authorities to justify tighter control of guns, or to deflect from other news stories.
"Sometimes that manifests as accusations of there being crisis actors, similar to [false accusations like] what we saw post-Sandy Hook," said Aniano, referring to the 2012 shooting at a Connecticut elementary school that killed 20 children and 6 staff.
One of the more obscure narratives that animated some of these unfounded accusations involved a secret project that ended in 1973, called MK-ULTRA. In that program, the CIA sought methods of mind control on human subjects through the use of LSD or psychological torture.
After the shooting in Uvalde, some took to social media with baseless inferences to suggest that the program was somehow accountable for the gunman's violence.
Scapegoats
Among the most dangerous narratives that gained wide circulation within the far right were those that spread incorrect claims about the shooter's identity.
Quickly after the gunman's name was announced, users on 4chan, GETTR, Patriots.win and other fringe platforms labeled him an "illegal alien." In a press conference on the day of the shooting, Texas Governor Greg Abbott identified him as a U.S. citizen.
https://www.npr.org/2022/05/26/1101479269/texas-uvalde-school-shooting-misinformation-conspiracy-far-right