What the Media Doesn’t Want You to Know About its ‘Mass Murder’ Narrative

Fake News Media Biased
Fake News Media Biased

A large group of unsuspecting people was waiting at a bus stop in Brownsville, Texas around 8:30 a.m. Sunday, when a Land Rover suddenly blew through a red light and barreled straight into their midst at a high rate of speed. The bus stop was located outside of the Ozoman Center, which provides care for the city’s burgeoning migrant community.

Eighteen people where hit, six were killed instantly and two died later. Police said the driver, 34-year-old George Alvarez, has an extensive criminal record. A police spokesman described him as “uncooperative,” adding that he tried to flee the scene and gave investigators several fake names. Alvarez is facing eight counts of manslaughter and 10 counts of aggravated assault with a weapon. More charges are likely. The carnage he allegedly caused was the worst some officers had ever seen.

The story is already disappearing from legacy media newscasts and websites. There were no protests, marches or calls to ban Range Rovers or other SUVs. No one filed suit against Land Rover or organized a boycott. No one from the White House went blood-dancing at the scene. The 24-7 coverage that normally follows a mass killing involving a firearm never materialized, because as horrific as it was, the Brownsville killings did not fit the legacy media’s mass-murder narrative, for several reasons.

There are several factors the legacy media considers before deciding how to cover a mass murder. Here are the main considerations.

Race

Black lives do not matter to the legacy media, at least not as much. White victims always receive more media coverage than a killing spree where the victims are people of color. The race of the murderer matters, too. A white shooter will always generate more coverage than a Black, Asian or Hispanic shooter. Downplaying or ignoring killings in a minority community is racist, but this is the type of racism the media allows. No one gets cancelled for what they don’t cover. Unfortunately, this type of racism allows the killings to continue unabated, since without media pressure elected officials know they can simply ignore the problem and hope it somehow goes away.

Weapon

If an AR or AK is used in a mass murder, the legacy media has prewritten stories ready and waiting to add to their coverage. These stories usually involve interviews with biased “experts” as well as anti-gun advocates. The media wants you to believe that “assault weapons” are responsible for most firearm murders, even though the data proves otherwise.

According to the FBI’s UCR crime reports, there were 10,258 firearm homicides in 2019, but only 364 involved rifles – all types of rifles. The FBI neither defines nor maintains a specific data set for “assault rifles.” The majority of the firearm homicides, 6,368, involved handguns. Knives or other cutting instruments were responsible for 1,476 homicides that year.

Motive

Today’s cable TV news actors love to speculate about a mass-murderer’s motive, as if someone who walks into a classroom or a shopping mall and starts shooting innocent people has a legitimate reason for their killings. Their actual motive is simple: they’re crazy. They’re deranged. They are extremely mentally ill. It doesn’t matter if mommy and daddy didn’t give them enough love and attention, or if they were bullied as a child. There is no justification for shooting innocent people. Nothing in their background can excuse such horrific acts, but this doesn’t stop the legacy media from endlessly speculating about the “real reason” behind the deaths.

Politics

I worked in five newsrooms during my 20 years as an investigative reporter and editor and met scores of journalists from other organizations. I don’t need all the fingers on one hand to count the conservatives, and only two of these were gun owners. Today’s journalists may not be able to articulate the difference between a shotgun and a rifle, but they all have a firm grasp of politics – especially leftist politics. They would never violate the left’s unwritten rule: Guns are bad. They would never stray outside the accepted political narrative; much write a story that a shooting was justified. There are thousands of justifiable defensive gun usages every year. How many have you seen covered by the legacy media?

Gender

When a mass murderer is male, the media usually tries and convicts them in the court of public opinion – justifiably so, most of the time. Nowadays, when a shooter is female, or their gender identity is unclear, the coverage is much less accusatory. Sometimes it’s even sympathetic. After Audrey Hale killed six people in Nashville’s Covenant School and her gender identity became known, NBC News “pointed to an already combustible political environment in which transgender people have become a frequent target of right-wing lawmakers and pundits.” Keep in mind three of Hale’s victims were nine-year-olds.

Definition

CNN, FOX News, MSNBC and even the Washington Post now rely solely on mass-shooting data from the Gun Violence Archive – an anti-gun nonprofit we debunked years ago. The reason is simple. The GVA inflates body counts, so its overblown numbers have become the data set of choice for the legacy media, which is constantly seeking more sensational headlines and news stories.

How does the GVA get its inflated numbers? They created their own definition of a mass shooting, of course. When most Americans hear the term, they picture a madman stalking the halls of a school or a shopping mall, coldly murdering innocent victims. What does not come to mind are rival drug crews shooting it out in Chicago, a deranged husband murdering his entire family, or a law-abiding gun owner acting in self-defense.

Yet for the GVA, and by extension the legacy media, anytime four or more people are killed or even slightly wounded with a firearm, it’s labeled a mass shooting. For example, according to the FBI and its more conservative definition, there were 30 mass shootings in 2019. The GVA claims there were 417.

Proof

If you still don’t believe the legacy media’s coverage of mass murders is flawed and extremely biased, just look at the never-ending carnage in Chicago or any other large metro historically controlled by Democrats.

In Chicago this year, 852 people have been shot and 172 have been killed – and it’s only May. Just last week, 60 Chicagoans were shot and six died as a result. That’s more than the equivalent of one mass shooting every week, but where is the news coverage? Where is the White House spokeswoman? Why isn’t she denouncing these killings? Where are the interviews with Giffords, Brady or Demanding Moms? Why aren’t they claiming that the guns locked in our safes are somehow responsible for the Chicago deaths? Where are the so-called gun experts at the ATF? Why aren’t they blaming Chicago’s killings on bump stocks, pistol braces, after-market triggers, or some other innocuous plastic accessory in common use? Where are the elected officials? Why aren’t they leading demonstrations, protests or marches to bring awareness to the killings?

The bottom line, today’s legacy journalists are nothing but hypocrites. If a mass murder fits their narrative, they will cover it ad nauseum for weeks or even months. If it doesn’t meet their specific criteria, they might mention it occurred, maybe, but only if no one is likely to become offended.

This story is presented by the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project and wouldn’t be possible without you. Please click here to make a tax-deductible donation to support more pro-gun stories like this.


About Lee Williams

Lee Williams, who is also known as “The Gun Writer,” is the chief editor of the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project. Until recently, he was also an editor for a daily newspaper in Florida. Before becoming an editor, Lee was an investigative reporter at newspapers in three states and a U.S. Territory. Before becoming a journalist, he worked as a police officer. Before becoming a cop, Lee served in the Army. He’s earned more than a dozen national journalism awards as a reporter, and three medals of valor as a cop. Lee is an avid tactical shooter.

Lee Williams

Lee Williams
25 Comments
Most Voted
Newest Oldest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Rowboat

Lee, the ONE thing that is missing from all the coverage of these mass executions of innocent people , as to motive is ; where are the toxicological reports on these crazy killers ? I’m betting that Big Pharma has a hand in the muteing of this . I also suspect that the one common denominator in all these killings are psychopathic drugs.
Show us the autopsy reports.

Bill

I have always wondered how many of the perpetrators are a) under a psychiatrists care and b) how many are or have recently stopped taking psychotropic drugs!

Laddyboy

This was brought out in one of the “bettelbach’s” questioning session in a Congressional investigational meeting that was broadcast on an internet video. ‘dettlebach’ HAD NO ANSWER. He said he will look into it — HA!! HA!! HA!!, I will not be holding my breath for a TRUE FACTUAL RESPONSE, IF ANY!!!!

ruffhouse

They are the foundation for any good MK Ultra operation.

Roland T. Gunner

Absolutely.

MP71

C’mon man, just because Pfizer directly sponsors just about every broadcast and cable news network doesn’t mean that their coverage of Big Pharma is biased. I suppose you’re also going to say that politicians aren’t always telling us the whole truth?

Rowboat

Why , thank you FJB , I had no idea that the media and politicians were in cahoots ( love that word ) with Big Pharma ! Tell Hunter I was really impressed by his expertise in gun handling, even while stoned !

Roland T. Gunner

What are the political affiliation and voting histories of these monsters, and their parents?

45crittergitter

“A white shooter will always generate more coverage than a Black, Asian or Hispanic shooter.”

They’re not shooters; they’re killers or murderers.

Laddyboy

TERRORISTS!!!! When a WANTON “individual” shoots into a crowd of INNOCENT People, ESPECIALLY in a Democratic “NO GUN ZONE”, TERROR is the main response. THUS, TERRORIST is the correct nomenclature!

Roland T. Gunner

Chris Kyle, and the Luttrell brothers were shooters.

Carlos Hathcock was a shooter.

gregs

it’s all about the narrative and the optics. if it fits the narrative great, if not re-define terms to fit the narrative and adjust the focus to change the optics by blaming a scary inanimate object to fit the narrative.
facts/data/statistics are not relevant to todays leftist industrial media complex.
i don’t watch any talking heads on television and usually get my new from overseas, not American sources.

Laddyboy

I read — ONCE — that the tattoo was of the Mexican “cartel” he was a member of!!! Since that ONE mention —- C R I C K E T S !!

ruffhouse

Tango Blast- according to Texas DPS, ‘the most dangerous gang in the state’. Yes, crickets.
Annd-
One of the “first responders” just happens to be a man who ran for McKinney, Tx city council back in 2015; Steven Spainhouer. Ex-cop ex-GI.
“I support the 2A, but…”
Looks as though he’s gearing up for another run

Roland T. Gunner

I really hate that line he used: “I HAVE guns”.

Well, whoopty-doo.

Laddyboy

GOOD REPORTING!
This is one sentence I TOTALLY AGREE WITH: “Nothing in their background can excuse such horrific acts, but this doesn’t stop the legacy media from endlessly speculating about the “real reason” behind the deaths.” Especially when the WANTON TERRORIST shooter is a TRANNY!
It IS TIME to pass REAL CONSTITUTIONAL CARRY COUNTRY WIDE — WITH — a clause that when DEEMED a DEFENSE SITUATION, NO suing can be done in any Civil Court by the “injured terrorist shooter’s” family!!

Wass

Anti-motor vehicle activism (believe it or not, something rampant briefly about the turn of the 20th century) doesn’t play, despite vehicles killing and injuring humans worldwide more than civilian gun usage. On the other hand, anti-gun activism serves a very specific need for the activist liberal/left. Advocating gun restrictions allows those who, otherwise do not support what’s we know are really necessary to curb rampant crime, to PRETEND they’re doing something against societal mayhem.

Roland T. Gunner

I wish we could have a huge surge in leftist protesters run over by electric cars, that we could exploit and make political hay out of

Wass

Your suggestion might work, if the cars are of the new self-driving variety. Another insane development along with cryptocurrency and congestion pricing.

Coelacanth

The role psychotropic medications have in these massacres has never been revealed. What is being hidden?

Bill

“According to the FBI’s UCR crime reports, there were 10,258 firearm homicides in 2019, but only 364 involved rifles – all types of rifles.”
Why are we constantly bombarded with a figure of 40,000 deaths due to firearms every year in the U.S.?
Are the news organizations and anti-gunners simply pulling the 40,000 death figure out of their butts?

GomeznSA

Bill – the ‘why’ is because they add suicides to get that number (I suspect you already knew that). Remember the meme attributed to Mark Twain – ‘there are lies, d*mned lies and statistics’ – IOW by ‘skillfully’ manipulating data they can ‘prove’ just about anything.

Here is a challenge to Lee and/or anyone else who can do the needed research (I freely admit that exceeds my skills): count up all of the victims – dead and wounded – from all of the ‘mass shootings’ and compare that to a single years toll in shytown.

RetMCCC

By the end of the horrendous Texas weekend we knew all about the identities, motives, backgrounds, manifestos, etc, of the 2 sickos because they were spun as white supremacists (remember, even Larry Elder was labeled a white supremacist!). Still waiting for the Nashville trans-sicko manifesto!?

StreetSweeper

Yes, many mass murderers are on or have recently stopped taking psychotropic drugs. Doctors, hospitals and mis-medication kill over 400,000 a year. Imagine if those numbers were the result of gun homicide, where is the outrage?

Roland T. Gunner

Great article Lee.