Thread by @conspirator0

Despite being presented with exactly nothing in the way of supporting evidence, this statistically unlikely comparison of deaths by mass shootings vs "illegal aliens" has garnered over 3000 retweets. #NeverLetFactsGetInTheWayOfMadeUpNumbers

cc: @ZellaQuixote

@ZellaQuixote Brief fact check: First,the 194 deaths via mass shootings is low - 423 is correct per the methodology cited on Wikipedia.

@ZellaQuixote Second, we were unable to find statistics on either the total number of US murders in 2019 so far or the number committed by undocumented immigrants. Based on the previous 10 years, the proposed 10150 number requires ~3% of the US population to commit ~67% of homicides, however.

@ZellaQuixote We pulled tweets containing "total", "deaths", "mass", "shootings", "illegal", "aliens", "2019", and quote tweets thereof. The bogus claim appears to have originated with a December 24th tweet from @Winning45KAG, and spread quickly, mostly via retweets of @Winning45KAG.

@ZellaQuixote @Winning45KAG One more thing: in addition to tweeting an unsourced and as far as we can tell entirely fabricated claim, @Winning45KAG took the innovative step of hiding replies requesting a source for the numbers or disputing the accuracy of the claim. #KeepThatEchoChamberEchoing

@ZellaQuixote @Winning45KAG (links to the crime and immigration stats used earlier in the thread)
ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u…
brookings.edu/policy2020/vot…
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_m…