Why did someone make a fake Facebook account for the suspected Santa Fe shooter?

On Friday afternoon, the suspect in a shooting that left at least eight people dead at a Texas high school was identified as 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis. While there are few details yet about Pagourtzis, the tragedy at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas, has already sparked willful disinformation operations — such as the one noticed by Caroline Orr:

Orr is what the National Observer calls "one of the most incisive and compelling observers on Trump, Russia, and the propaganda wars now consuming world attention," and she observed that the Santa Fe shooting is "quickly gaining traction in Russian-linked influence networks":

"This is definitely not the first time we've seen a disinformation operation trying to link a shooter to antifa," Orr said, noting there was a similar response after the Sutherland Springs, Texas, shooting last year.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

The fake Facebook account is also a startling example that the social media giant is still struggling to prevent trolls and bots from using the site to sow chaos. Read more via Caroline Orr.