- A baseless conspiracy theory posits that the Texas school massacre was a false flag operation.
- Messages on QAnon-linked Telegram groups falsely claimed that the shooting was staged.
- Alex Jones, a conspiracy theorist sued by families of Sandy Hook victims, has also weighed in.
A baseless conspiracy theory is brewing in QAnon circles, positing without evidence that Tuesday's Texas school shooting was a false flag attack.
The ridiculous claims began brewing on Telegram groups hours after the attack, with QAnon influencers weighing in on the massacre that has claimed the lives of at least 21 people, including 19 children.
Both the Poynter Institute and Politifact have debunked the false claims that the shooting was staged. However, that has not stopped QAnon influencers from casting doubt on the tragedy.
QAnon John, now known as "The Ultra Patriot Voice," posted on his Telegram group hours after the shooting, drawing attention to what he baselessly claimed was "an endless amount of false flags and mass shootings" in Texas. He asserted that "gun seizing fever dreams" were driving people to attempt to ban firearms "through fear and force."
Another prominent QAnon influencer, Ann Vandersteel, also posted about the Uvalde attack, claiming without basis that it was fake.
"Does America have the stones to call it what it is? A false flag shooting to take our guns. Child sacrifice is part of the agenda and a means to the end. It's SICK #uvaldeshooting," wrote Vandersteel.
That idea then spread within a day to conspiracy theorist Alex Jones's Infowars show, when a caller suggested to Jones that the timing shooting appeared to coincide with the National Rifle Association's upcoming convention in Houston.
"You don't think this was done to demonize the Texas Republicans and the NRA?" the unnamed caller said.
"It's very suspicious timing," Jones said, questioning how the shooter got "all that money" to buy his guns.
Jones then suggested that everyone should be able to question the attack "because there's been so many false flags, so many provocateured operations."
According to The New York Times, there have also been social media posts claiming that some parents affected by the shooting did not appear to be emotional enough in news clips and were crisis actors.
Another piece of misinformation was spread when GOP Rep. Paul Gosar touted a baseless, transphobic rumor that the gunman was a "transsexual leftist illegal alien."
The false claim originated from messaging board 4chan and involved pictures of three trans women being shared — without their consent — in an attempt to substantiate these false allegations.
The Texas massacre was not the first time a mass shooting sparked wild conspiracy theories.
Following the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Jones made baseless claims that the incident was a hoax staged for the benefit of gun control campaigners and that the killings never actually occurred. He has since lost four defamation suits filed by families of Sandy Hook victims and his Infowars platform has filed for bankruptcy.