Mass Shootings: When The Media Denies Relevant Facts On The Ground

TOP LINE

Coverage of the Minnesota school shooting is another reminder that you can learn a great deal about a news organization’s editorial point of view from the information they choose not to report.

Police told reporters the shooter who targeted the Annunciation Catholic school had previously attended the private academy.   Based on publicly available writings, personal videos of the assailant and witness interviews, it seems relevant that Robert or Robin Westman struggled with gender identity issues. 

But these data points were downplayed or excluded by some news organizations in their coverage.   At the start of a case, investigators cast a wide net to determine motive.  Days into a mass shooting, everything is on the table. So, it is fair to ask whether “selective editing” was done to craft a narrative.

In a media marketplace flooded with options to gather information, these omissions undermine the credibility of news organizations with their audience. In the age of X, Instagram and YouTube, traditional media are no longer the gatekeepers for information. 

You can’t hide facts.

DEEP DIVE

When comparisons were made between this week’s shooting, and another mass shooting in Tennessee two years ago, key details were missing. 

On X, former FBI Director Andrew McCabe was trending at one point late Friday, because of his commentary on the shooting. 

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McCabe told the CNN anchor that the shootings shared several similarities.

In both cases, the former FBI Deputy Director said the offenders targeted religious schools they had previously attended.  They brought three weapons. They were in their twenties. They had rage filled writings or manifestos against religious and ethnic groups.  But he did not mention the gender identity issue. 

If the shooter had been a member of a hate group, or had been radicalized by a terrorist organization such as Al Qaeda, certainly McCabe and the news anchor would have included the information in their discussion.   

At the beginning of criminal probes, investigators cast a wide net to determine motive and to understand whether the suspect had outside help or acted alone (a so-called Lone Wolf attack.)

As the Western Journal noted, “There wasn’t one mention of the fact that they were both transgender. Robin Westman, formerly Robert Westman, spoke about his experience of suffering with gender issues in his manifesto.”

At one point, Elon Musk weighed in on the coverage of the Minnesota shooting. Linking to the McCabe interview, Musk wrote “Something needs to be done about CNN.”

A longtime contact shared a video posted to YouTube, presumably filmed by Westman. It has since been removed.

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