"While I generally respect The Wall Street Journal, this time it printed something dangerously close to anti-trans blood libel in the wake of Charlie Kirk's shooting. In its live-update blog yesterday, the Journal wrote, "Ammunition engraved with transgender and antifascist ideology was found inside the rifle authorities believe was used in Kirk's shooting, according to an internal law enforcement bulletin and a source familiar with the investigation.""
"We know now that the Journal royally fucked this up — the bullets did have messages, but nothing about transgender people was on them. First, The New York Times had a source who said the WSJ's information contradicts other conclusions. Then, CNN reported that investigators just saw some arrows on the casings. A press conference held by Utah Governor Spencer Cox did not confirm that anything about trans people appeared on the casings."
A live-update initially claimed ammunition found in the rifle used in Charlie Kirk's shooting contained engravings tied to transgender and antifascist ideology. Multiple subsequent sources contradicted that account, reporting only arrows on casings and no confirmed transgender-related messages. Early reliance on an internal law enforcement bulletin and an unnamed source produced an inaccurate narrative that was undermined by reporting from other outlets and a Utah governor's press conference. Right-wing figures have repeatedly and falsely blamed transgender people for gun violence, and inaccurate mainstream reporting risks amplifying those harmful narratives.
Read at The Verge
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]