Authors
Vasudha noticed the growing problem of mis/disinformation online after studying New Media at ACJ in Chennai and became interested in separating facts from fiction. She is interested in learning how global issues affect individuals on a micro level. Before joining Newschecker’s English team, she was working with Latestly.
Claim
Photograph of Nashville school shooter, Samantha Hyde.
Fact
Old meme template showing comic Sam Hyde as a mass shooter recycled.
At least six people, including three children, died after an assailant opened fire at a school in the US’ Nashville earlier this week, adding to the long list of gun violence in the States. Reportedly, the shooter, a former student of the school, had bought seven weapons in recent years and hid the guns from parents before carrying out the fatal attack. The latest episode of mass shooting in the US prompted people to turn to social media platforms to express their despair, anguish and anger.
In addition to the rampant gun violence in the States, the Nashville shooting incident has also put a spotlight on the issue of gender identity. Though the initial news reports suggested that the Nashville assailant was a woman, it was later discovered that the shooter identified as a transgender and preferred using the pronouns “he/his.”
As the “curious” users rushed to social media platforms to “decipher” more of the assailant’s identity, an old “hoax”, or most aptly a “long running meme” revived yet again and soon took the centre stage in such discussion.
Also Read: David Bowie Predicted Impact Of Internet In 1999? Viral Video Is A Satire
Photograph of “Nashville Shooter” Goes Viral
While the social media users were busy mourning the Nashville deaths, a photograph of “Samantha Hyde,” identified online as the “accused of the recent shooting incident” grabbed everyone’s attention.
Such tweets can be seen here, here, here and here.
Samantha Hyde Not The Nashville Shooter
A search for “Samantha Hyde” will yield a number of social media profiles by the same name, none of whom is the Nashville shooter. Notably, the assailant responsible for the death of at least 6 people in Nashville this week has been identified as one “Audrey Hale.” Multiple news outlets like this, this and this have confirmed the same.
Does Viral Photo Show Audrey Hale?
No, it does not. The photograph is a part of a long-running online joke where “memers” digitally modify an image of American comic Sam Hyde as per the publicly available description of the accused.
The police initially identified the assailant as a woman in the Nashville shooting case, and hence a photograph of Hyde was remodelled to suit the descriptions of Audrey Hale.
So Who Is Sam Hyde And How Did He Become A Meme Gunman?
Sam Hyde is an American comic “whose jokes often lean far right politically,” and is also the co-founder of the comedy group called “Million Dollar Extreme” (MDE). Hyde has been a “popular face” of every mass shooting incident in the past few years. It has been observed that different variations of Hyde’s photographs were peddled online after several shooting incidents across the world. His name and photographs are modified to match the description of the accused.
‘Sam Hyde – The Shooter’ meme reportedly originated on the image board website 4chan and eventually spread across the social media platforms. The meme showing Hyde as a mass shooter dates back to at least the 2015 San Bernardino shooting in which 15 people were killed.
The meme was evoked during the Texas, Hesston, Minneapolis and Kalamazoo shootings among others.
The long running nature of the meme and the convincing quality it has begun to take on means that many people, including statesmen and media, fall for it time and again. In 2017, a Congressman became a victim of the same, believing Hyde to be a gunman that opened fire at church goers in Texas.
Over the years people have claimed that it was Hyde who shot up the Planned Parenthood, the Naval base in San Diego, the Air Force base in San Antonio as well as Capitol Hill. Hyde’s photograph has also been shared as a KKK member, a Donald Trump supporter, a school shooter, part of GamerGate, and general web terrorist of the conservative right.
Sam Hyde Meme- A Global Phenomenon
Sam Hyde -The Shooter meme is not restricted to the untoward events in the US alone. It’s presence was felt during the 2020 Beirut explosion, 2022 Crimea bridge blast and the assassination of former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe. Hyde was also mistakenly identified as the “heroic” ‘Ghost of Kyiv.’
Though his name and photograph are modified with every incident to match the description of accused/heros, the core of the meme remains the same – Same Hyde Is The One.
Also Read: US Comedian Sam Hyde’s Images Presented As Shinzo Abe’s Assassin
Meme For Many, Serious ‘Call For Action’ For Others
As soon as the photo of Samantha Hyde appeared online, many let out a chuckle at the revival of the ‘Sam Hyde, the gunman’ meme. However, many others on social media, who were likely unaware of the long running meme campaign, shared the image, believing that it was actually “Samantha Hyde” who opened fire at the Nashville school, and the photograph in fact showed the accused.
One such Twitter user @TheSourceStars shared the viral photograph with the caption, “The school shooter in Nashville Tennessee has been identified as Samantha Hyde and used an AR-15 style weapon. DO SOMETHING BIDEN!.” In the comment section this user can be seen vehemently defending the post, despite people pointing out that it’s a meme.
The Gender Identity Of Nashville Shooter & Social Media Reaction
Gender identity of the Nashville shooter is another point of conversation that is picking up on social media circles. As soon as reports of Hale identifying herself as a transgender surfaced online, an anti-trans rhetoric was set in motion.
US Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted, “How much hormones like testosterone and medications for mental illness was the transgender Nashville school shooter taking? Everyone can stop blaming guns now.”
Ohio Senator JD Vance said, “We’re still learning about the horrific shooting in Nashville. But if early reports are accurate that a trans shooter targeted a Christian school, there needs to be a lot of soul searching on the extreme left. Giving in to these ideas isn’t compassion, it’s dangerous.”
Donald Trump Jr “suggested”, “Given the incredible rise of trans/non-binary mass shooters in the last few years… by far the largest group committing as a percentage of population… maybe, rather than talking about guns we should be talking about lunatics pushing their gender affirming bulls**t on our kids?”
Hale’s identity also led social media devise and call out the concept “Trans -terrorism”
Such tweets can be seen here, here, here, here and here.
Conclusion
An old meme showing comic Sam Hyde as the “culprit” behind different shooting/explosion/blast incidents has been revived following Nashville gun violence.
Result: Satire
Sources
Report By CNN, Dated March 29, 2023
Report By The New York Times, Dated November 6, 2017
Report By Forbes, Dated June 2, 2016
| Update: This article was updated on March 31, 2023 to add more information about the Sam Hyde meme. |
If you would like us to fact check a claim, give feedback or lodge a complaint, WhatsApp us at 9999499044 or email us at checkthis@newschecker.in. You can also visit the Contact Us page and fill the form.
Authors
Vasudha noticed the growing problem of mis/disinformation online after studying New Media at ACJ in Chennai and became interested in separating facts from fiction. She is interested in learning how global issues affect individuals on a micro level. Before joining Newschecker’s English team, she was working with Latestly.
