ADL, Public, Media 'Duped' on Shooter's Supremacist Ties

White nationalist trolls "duped" the public – and many news media outlets – with fake news reports the alleged shooter in this week's Parkland, Florida, school shooting was tied to hate groups, forcing law enforcement to debunk the connections.

And the Anti-Defamation League bears a burden of blame, according to Politico.

"All of our evidence seems to point to the ADL getting this wrong," online misinformation researcher Joan Donovan of New York City's Data & Society told Politico.

According to the report, the fake news began with the ADL's statement on ties between the shooter and the Republic of Florida Militia's Jordan Jereb.

Both ABC News and the AP reported they had spoken with those with "knowledge of Cruz's ties to ROF," although not specifying whether the interactions might have come with individuals on social media.

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