Disinformation & Conspiracies About the Lewiston Mass Shooter Highlight a Much Bigger Problem

Shortly after the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, earlier this month, several conspiracy theories about the shooter and the event itself emerged on alternative social media. Some of these quickly spread to mainstream media where a handful of high-profile personalities leveraged the messaging to spur support from their base. There were even a couple of confirmed incidents where far-right groups tried to take matters into their own hands by hunting down the shooter.¹

• Information provided to law enforcement by unidentified sources suggest Card was involved in "conspiratorial content" online, including anti-LGBTQ+ issues, gun rights, commentary about Democratic officials including President Biden, and concerns over the current financial crisis within the country.² Investigators are currently researching to determine what, if any, role this behavior may have influenced the attack.
  

• If this behavior did play a part, it follows a trend that was highlighted recently in a United States Secret Service report that found a quarter of mass shootings between 2016 and 2020 in the US were inspired by conspiracy theories and hateful rhetoric³.  

Since 2020, alt-social has surged in popularity: many users are increasingly seeking an ‘unmoderated’ experience on what they read and post, leading to a drastic rise in (and normalization of) hate speech, extremism and disinformation throughout this ecosystem, and the tragedy in Lewiston highlights once again how dangerous this environment can be. 

• Directly following the shooting, a piece of disinformation emerged alleging that the now-deceased shooter, Robert Card, was a convicted sex offender who should not have been able to legally possess a firearm⁴⁵. This went viral, and several alt-social platforms spread this piece along with an image of the actual offender, illustrating the dangers to the public by posting disinformation.
  

• Of greater concern, a New England branch of a white power group picked up this narrative and mobilized its members to join in the search for Card⁶. Videos of the group show them armed with semi-automatic weapons - highlighting the danger they posed to law enforcement and the public. 

• This theory quickly migrated to mainstream outlets. Within hours of the shooting a Facebook user published the same narrative about Card’s alleged status as a convicted child sex offender. These claims soon seeped onto X, where far-right personalities such as Donald Trump, Jr., chimed in⁷.
  

• These two pieces of disinformation provided additional fuel for another conspiracy that alleged the attack must have been a ‘false flag’ operation⁸, a similar narrative was pushed on alternative and mainstream social media immediately following the May 2022 mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York⁹.
  

• Meanwhile, users on the Russian alt-social outlet VKontakte (VK) pushed disinformation alleging Card had trained unspecified Ukrainian forces, with one user noting, "these are the unhinged people the West uses to train...the Nazis," a clear nod to garner support or justification for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. We have been unable to find any credible information to corroborate this claim.

The disinformation and conspiracy theories that emerged following the Lewiston shooting highlight the increasing dangers posed by the alternative social media ecosystem. But more alarmingly, it highlights the growing distrust of government, contempt for select groups, and a simmering anger and resentment amongst many within our society.