Understanding anti-trans misinformation about mass shootings and extremist activities

Right-wing internet users, media outlets, and politicians regularly spread false claims that mass shooting perpetrators are transgender. These claims often start before the release of any substantive information from authorities. This pattern became prominent after the Uvalde shooting in 2022 and has led to the harassment of trans people completely unrelated to the crimes. In some cases, law enforcement or politicians have complicated this misinformation pattern by releasing contradictory, unverified, purely speculative, or ultimately false information that initially tied trans perpetrators to shootings as news developed. 

In 2023, noted right-wing influencer — and son of the then-former president — Donald Trump Jr. baselessly stated that there had been an “incredible rise” in the number of trans shooters. This was untrue then, and it remains untrue now. Anti-trans actors have begun to falsely claim that mass shooters are disproportionately transgender or that transgender people are more likely to commit crimes. Snopes evaluated these recent claims and PolitiFact debunked the numbers behind them; Wired also undermined the statistics used to perpetuate similar misinformation. These claims now reliably resurface online when mass shootings occur. 

Further, false notions that transgender people categorically commit more violence than other groups have inspired new language in anti-transgender policy circles. In the wake of a shooting, organizations or individuals may rush to blame bloodshed on “transgender ideology,” “gender ideology,” “gender extremism,” “transgender ideology-inspired violent extremism,” or “trantifa,” conflating transgender identity with an extremist political stance. This framing is both incendiary and premised on a falsehood; reporters who quote or reference such language should explain this context.

When journalists credulously circulate claims about shooting perpetrators’ identity or motivations without verification or while the facts are still developing, they can spread misinformation. This can have tangible consequences for trans people: Some US government officials have suggested limiting transgender people’s access to guns or institutionalizing them based on these false premises. 

A hyperfocus on the alleged perpetrator(s) also contradicts best practices for covering mass shootings. Experts, researchers, and gun violence reporters stress that elevating mass shooters and seeking reductive motives for their actions can foment further violence. 

Journalists covering potential political violence should familiarize themselves with the symbols and language of extremist groups. The slang and shorthand of online extremist spaces, in particular, is often intentionally difficult for outsiders to parse; seemingly straightforward references to identity groups or political beliefs may also be, for example, video game in-jokes or obscure memes. Journalists reporting on what may be extremist violence should consult extremism researchers and other relevant experts. This may help avoid errors, corrections, and other breaches of journalistic best practice and public trust. 

Employ extreme caution when reporting on stories that may involve political violence or other common elements that facilitate the spread of misinformation. Be as transparent as possible about what is and isn’t known and explain how journalists reached their conclusions, both to increase accuracy in reporting and build trust with audiences in a breaking news environment. 

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