Devin Patrick Kelley Facebook Profile Spreading Antifa Hoax
Citizens are advised to be cautious of fake reports concerning Devin Kelley, the suspect behind the Texas shooting on Sunday. Platforms such as Google, Facebook, and YouTube have been used to spread bogus news.
Weeks after a fatal church shooting in Antioch, Tennessee, parishioners from a rural Texas church were attacked by a former Airman. The gunman killed at least 26 parishioners from Frist Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs.
A day or so after the massacre, search engines promoted Antifa as an autocomplete suggestion for whoever was looking up the suspect's name. A number of propaganda videos would pop up in the search results, one of which was titled "Devin Patrick Kelley Antifa Confirmed Proof" while another was "Devin Kelley is Antifa."
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Reports alleged that Kelley had links to leftwing movements and that he was connected to the anti-fascist movement called Antifa. Other fake news claimed that Kelley brought an Antifa flag along with him as he carried out the attack. Furthermore, they said that he spoke of instigating a communist rebellion.
In the wake of the recent string of mass shootings in the country, YouTube claims to have implemented changes to its system to prevent further propagation of fake news.
Manipulated reports, however, continue to surface, one after the other. Revere Press said that fake Facebook profiles of the suspect were created after authorities publicly announced his name. The anti-fascist movement's flag was included in a collage of photos that supposedly were from Kelley's already deleted Facebook account. Moreover, known supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump have linked Kelley to anything they despise, Democrats and Muslims included.
It is to be noted that authorities have yet to find concrete evidence that ties the former Airman to such claims.
On Monday, the Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed that a family dispute may have prompted Kelley's attack.
"This was not racially motivated, it wasn't over religious beliefs," agency spokesman Freeman Martin said in a news conference. "There was a domestic situation going on within the family and the in-laws.
