On Sunday night, when Rep. Vicente González (D-Texas) went on CNN to address a church shooting that resulted in at least 25 reported deaths so far, he called the shooter out by name: Sam Hyde. The trouble is, Sam Hyde isn’t the shooter, but a beloved comedian of the so-called “alt right.”
Just about every time there is a mass casualty incident — Sandy Hook, the Aurora theater massacre, the Pulse nightclub shooting, to name a few — Hyde’s fans dutifully tweet out that Hyde was the shooter, with quips like “Not again!” and “Sam Hyde can’t keep getting away with it.”
Usually, journalists on Twitter work fast to debunk the claim. This time, it seeped through to national television:
[contentcards url=”https://mic.com/articles/185850/a-texas-congressman-falling-for-a-4chan-joke-just-went-on-cnn-and-misidentified-the-church-shooter#.oKNiMrZhh” target=”_blank”]Oh good, a Texas congressman just said on CNN that SAM HYDE was the church shooter. pic.twitter.com/2iFauUjJTz
— Jack Smith IV (@JackSmithIV) November 5, 2017