A Trans Pilot Was Falsely Blamed for a Plane Crash. Now She’s Fighting the Right-Wing Disinfo Machine
Wallace, against which Ellis brought an action, also regularly publishes content on trans persons, including false complaints on X in 2024 that “100% of mass school shootings this year were carried out by LGBTQ activists”. This message has been viewed 1.8 million times. A month later, in the aftermath of the shooting of the Lakewood church in Texas, Wallace published an image of the shooter claiming that she was transgender even though the factors and the media said that the shooter was a cis woman. Wallace seems to have a “homophonic, anti-trans” theme to his social media, said that Ellis Phelan’s lawyer, adding that it is obvious that Ellis and the community as a whole were the target.
Another internet trend that comes regularly during a mass tragedy is the same “Sam Hyde”, through which people associate images from the far -right actor Sam Hyde in a wig – which often refers to him as “Samantha Hyde” – and describes him as the aggressor of shootings. “Sam Hyde or Samatha Hyde is an internet meme and larger social media that emerges whenever there is a school shoot,” said Aaps. “I think it’s intended to be a joke, but people fall for it.”
In the right -wing media ecosystem, marginal rumors can quickly become common. “It is a very large device that they built via cable personalities, politicians, online personalities,” said Gogarty. “And this device is really essential to spread fear and stories, especially when it involves vulnerable communities.” This becomes a more important problem because algorithms amplify harmful content while platforms such as Facebook and verification of X Scrap facts. Earlier this year, Facebook has also loosened its rules concerning hate speeches and abuses.
It is not only the shot from Uvalde. There are several other cases where a random hoax circulating on 4chan accusing someone Trans of being a shooter is picked up by a greater personality of the right media or a politician. “This is a really clear example of how this device works and the speed and efficiency that they are capable of spreading a disinformation through this ecosystem to really the whole story helps them at that time,” added Gogarty.
Ellis said that Although it was not clear that first started the rumor, it was Wallace who linked his resemblance to the incident, and because of his great follow -up, he was able to amplify the scope of the rumor. “Freedom of expression is great, but if you cause damage to someone or in question of damage or threats, I think you must have responsibility,” said Ellis. “I am not trying to regulate the speech, but there are clear cases that should not be authorized.”
Before this incident, Ellis barely had an online presence and did not even have an X account. But “now I’m everywhere,” she said. “I didn’t want to be a public, but now that I am, I try to take advantage of it, because it is important to defend the trans and daily person who is attacked.” She gave interviews and became a defender of trans problems. “There is such a need for a moderate trans pragmatic voice in the debate right now,” she said. “I think this is the direction I am going to go: as long as people continue to listen to me, I will continue to say things.”
She believes that the right has armed the “edge cases” in the painting of a frightening image of how all trans people are, and because most people may not personally know a trans person, they believe the story. “There are not enough trans people every day appearing visibly as an example, because they want to integrate and assimilate against standing out and doing stories,” she said. “There is common ground somewhere, but right now, the political position is either extreme on the right or left, and it is not good for us.”
