Fact Check: FAKE Screenshot Shows Apalachee Shooting Suspect Colt Gray As Transgender And Harris Supporter

Fact Check

  • by: Dana Ford
Fact Check: FAKE Screenshot Shows Apalachee Shooting Suspect Colt Gray As Transgender And Harris Supporter Troll Account

Is a screenshot that shows Apalachee High School shooting suspect Colt Gray as transgender and a supporter of Kamala Harris authentic? No, that's not true: The person behind the account frequently changes their profile picture and bio. A previous version of the account warns journalists, lawyers and others that "this context is all fake and made up." The screenshot is of a profile on X that belongs to a known troll.

The screenshot appeared in a post (archived here) on X, formerly known as Twitter, on September 5, 2024. Under the words, "Here you go," the post showed what purported to be Gray's X account, depicting him as transgender and a Harris supporter. It included a photograph and a bio that read:

Kamala 2024 end all MAGAts

This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:

GWvUzNcXsAAGxFk.jpeg

(Source: X screenshot taken on Fri Sep 6 07:48:10 2024 UTC)

The screenshot does not show an authentic X profile. The account, identified by the handle "@is_never_wrong_" belongs to a known troll. The person behind the account frequently changes their profile picture and bio.

Most significantly for the purposes of this fact check, an earlier version of the account (archived here) identified the poster as a "frequent tweet deleter" and cautioned: "lawyers, journos, cops & the CIA: this content is all fake and made up."

Fake Gray.png
(Source: Archived @is_never_wrong_ X account screenshot taken on Fri Sep 9 20:05:00 2024 UTC)

Another previous version of the account (archived here) included a mix of opposing slogans in the bio, including "Trump 24."

A third version (archived here) identified the poster as a "Professional sarcasm enthusiast/ TacoAddict / Avid procrastinator."

Other Lead Stories fact checks about the Apalachee shooting in Winder, Georgia, on September 4, 2024 can be read here.

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  Dana Ford

Dana Ford is an Atlanta-based reporter and editor. She previously worked as a senior editor at Atlanta Magazine Custom Media and as a writer/ editor for CNN Digital. Ford has more than a decade of news experience, including several years spent working in Latin America.

Read more about or contact Dana Ford

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