memeorandum: Rush Limbaugh Baselessly Suggests NZ Mosque Attacks Could Be False Flag Carried Out by a ‘Leftist’ (Caleb Ecarma/Mediaite)

7:40 PM ET, March 15, 2019

Top Items:

Robert Evans / bellingcat:

Shitposting, Inspirational Terrorism, and the Christchurch Mosque Massacre — On Friday, March 15th, one or more gunmen opened fire in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. As I write this, three men and one woman have been taken into custody by local law enforcement.

Discussion: Washington Post, ThinkProgress, RedState, New York Times, The Atlantic, The New Neo, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Root, Vox, Mother Jones, Mediaite, The Verge, Washington Press and Spectator USA, more at Techmeme »

Gohmert:

Gohmert's Statement on the Horrific Shootings at New Zealand Mosques — f t # e — Congressman Louie Gohmert (TX-01) released the following statement this morning regarding the horrific shootings at two mosques in New Zealand: — ""The shootings at the New Zealand mosques are egregiously reprehensible.

Discussion: HuffPost, Washington Press, ThinkProgress, Joe.My.God., Shareblue Media, Roll Call, twitchy.com and Daily Kos

New Zealand Herald:

Christchurch mosque massacre: 49 confirmed dead in shootings; four arrested - three men, one woman … Forty-nine people have been killed and 48 more hurt after mass shootings at two Christchurch mosques in the worst terror attack on New Zealand soil. — Nour Tavis said he was in the front row …

Mark Di Stefano / BuzzFeed:

The Daily Mail Let Readers Download The New Zealand Mosque Attacker's Manifesto Directly From Its Website — Other British news outlets, The Sun and The Mirror, featured the attacker's first-person video, including in GIF form on the homepages of their websites.

Discussion: The Guardian, Talking Points Memo, NBC News, UPROXX, Outside the Beltway, Macleans.ca, The Atlantic, ABC News and Engadget, more at Mediagazer »

John Wagner / Washington Post:

Trump says white nationalism is not a rising threat after New Zealand attacks: 'It's a small group of people' — BREAKING NEWS: When asked if white nationalism was a rising threat in the wake of the attacks on mosques in New Zealand that left 49 people dead, President Trump on Friday said: “I don't really.

Discussion: Axios, Political Wire, RedState, Politico, Raw Story, Variety, Joe.My.God. and Althouse

Charlie Warzel / New York Times:

The New Zealand Massacre Was Made to Go Viral — The attack marks a grim new age of social media-fueled terrorism. — Mr. Warzel is an Opinion writer at large. — This post has been updated. — On Friday, a gunman strapped on a helmet camera, loaded his car with weapons …

Discussion: CNN, The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, The Mahablog, The Guardian, Gothamist, Media Matters for America, 1A and The Wrap

Andy Campbell / HuffPost:

A Suspect In New Zealand Mass Shootings Appears To Be A White Supremacist — In a manifesto, the alleged gunman said he was motivated by American extremism. — A man accused of opening fire Friday at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, killing dozens of worshippers …

Discussion: NBC News, ABC News, ThinkProgress, The Daily Caller, IJR and Splinter

Mehdi Hasan / The Intercept:
Don't Just Condemn the New Zealand Attacks — Politicians and Pundits Must Stop Their Anti-Muslim Rhetoric

Discussion: Washington Post, ThinkProgress, The New Arab, Splinter and Washington Press

Brian Klaas / Washington Post:
A short history of President Trump's anti-Muslim bigotry

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Shannon Vavra / Axios:
Trump claims white nationalists are “a small group of people”

Discussion: The American Spectator

Kevin Roose / New York Times:
A Mass Shooting of, and for, the Internet

Discussion: Mother Jones, TechCrunch, Breitbart, Motherboard, New York Post, The Wrap, Hullabaloo and Bounding Into Comics, more at Techmeme »

James McAuley / Washington Post:
New Zealand suspect inspired by French writer who fears ‘replacement’ by immigrants

Discussion: The Nation, Shareblue Media, POLITICUSUSA, CNN and Splinter

The Daily Beast:
Fewer Than 1 In 5 FBI Terror Cases Target White Supremacists, Stats Show

Discussion: Just Security

Jonathan Lemire / Associated Press:
After massacre, Trump downplays white nationalism threat

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, ABC News and Shareblue Media

Associated Press:
Mass shootings at New Zealand mosques kill 49; 1 man charged

Discussion: Daily Mail, The Hill, Stuff.co.nz, The Wrap, Washington Monthly, Religion News Service, Deadspin, Daily Wire, The Week, New York Times, Boing Boing, Common Dreams, Shot in the Dark, Patterico's Pontifications, Friendly Atheist, Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times and Splinter

New York Times:
New Zealand Shooting Live Updates: 49 Are Dead After 2 Mosques Are Hit

Matthew Lee / Associated Press:
US to revoke visas for International Criminal Court staff

Discussion: Joe.My.God.

Al Jazeera:
New Zealand mosques' attack suspect praised Trump in manifesto

Discussion: The Nation, Raw Story and Contemptor

Isaac Stanley-Becker / Washington Post:
49 killed in terrorist attack at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand

Discussion: New Republic, Hit & Run, Sydney Morning Herald, CNN, The Guardian, NPR, Slate, Breitbart, Associated Press, Q13 FOX News, Herald Sun, Daily Wire, The First Street Journal, Vanity Fair, No More Mister Nice Blog and Daily Kos

James Peron / The Radical Center:
The Demented Politics of the New Zealand Terrorist

Discussion: The Guardian and The Resurgent

Joseph Menn / Reuters:

Beto O'Rourke's secret membership in America's oldest hacking group — Illustration REUTERS/Mike Segar/Troy Dunkley — As the Texas Democrat enters the race for president, members of a group famous for “hactivism” come forward for the first time to claim him as one of their own.

Joseph Menn / Reuters:
Exclusive: Beto O'Rourke belonged to major hacker group as a teenager

Discussion: Big League Politics and The Daily Caller

Mike Fleming Jr / Deadline:

Disney Reinstates Director James Gunn For ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy 3’ — EXCLUSIVE: Redemption and second chances have long been superhero movie staples, and today it looks like life has imitated art. I've learned that Disney has reinstated James Gunn as the writer-director of Guardians of the Galaxy 3 …

Carlos Sanchez / Texas Monthly:

Joaquin Castro “All But Certain” to Challenge John Cornyn for U.S. Senate, Source Says — A Joaquin Castro candidacy instantly makes next year's Senate race competitive, observers say. — Joaquin Castro, the Democratic congressman from San Antonio, “is all but certain” …

Discussion: The Texas Tribune and Political Wire

Katie Galioto / Politico:

Trump issues first veto of his presidency — Donald Trump issued the first veto of his presidency Friday afternoon, rejecting a congressional resolution that would have blocked him from funding his border wall without congressional approval. — “Consistent with the law …

Discussion: Washington Post, Townhall and Hot Air

Alex Ward / Vox:
The New Zealand shooter called immigrants “invaders.” Hours later, so did Trump.

Discussion: Recode

Associated Press:
Trump issues first veto after rebuke of border order

Discussion: Fox News, Daily Wire and The Hill

Astead W. Herndon / New York Times:

How Trump's Brand of Grievance Politics Roiled a Pennsylvania Campaign — OLD FORGE, Pa. — The news came at 9:41 p.m. Tuesday: Frank Scavo III had lost. Again. — Mr. Scavo, a perennial candidate running for the Pennsylvania Legislature on a platform of ending property taxes …

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Monthly and Raw Story

Natasha Korecki / Politico:

‘Not one woman got that kind of coverage’: Beto backlash begins — Since announcing her 2020 run, Elizabeth Warren has dispensed three major policy proposals, held 30 campaign events and visited nearly a dozen states. — Since announcing his 2020 run, Beto O'Rourke has made one visit to Iowa …

Discussion: Front Page Magazine and The Daily Caller

Astead W. Herndon / New York Times:
In Beto O'Rourke's Announcement, His Wife's Silence Stands Out

Discussion: New Republic, IJR, CBS News, Louder With Crowder, Vanity Fair and Faithwire

Caleb Ecarma / Mediaite:

Rush Limbaugh Baselessly Suggests NZ Mosque Attacks Could Be False Flag Carried Out by a ‘Leftist’ — Conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh promoted a fringe conspiracy that suggests the Christchurch, New Zealand Mosque massacre may have been a false flag attack carried out by a “leftist” to “to smear” right-wingers.

Media Matters for America:
Rush Limbaugh suggests New Zealand shootings might be a false flag attack committed by a leftist to smear conservatives

Discussion: Hullabaloo, Talking Points Memo and Joe.My.God.

Justin McCarthy / Gallup:

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez Better Known, but Image Skews Negative — WASHINGTON, D.C. — Two months into her new job on Capitol Hill, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has become a much more recognizable figure to Americans. Half of U.S. adults were unfamiliar with or had no opinion of her in September …

Discussion: Axios, Washington Post, Washington Examiner, Front Page Magazine, Politico, The Week, National Review, IJR, Hot Air and twitchy.com

CNN:

White House and House Democrats battle over John Kelly, ex-officials in Trump probes — (CNN)House Democrats, eager to investigate all aspects of the Trump White House, have identified former administration officials they need to carry out their probes. But the White House isn't making it an easy task.

Discussion: Raw Story

Gabriel Debenedetti / New York Magazine:

Howard Schultz and His Team Think the Backlash Means They're ‘Onto Something’ — Anyone who thought, or hoped, that the flood of horror in response to Howard Schultz's independent presidential exploration would deter him might want to sit down for this. Because the former Starbucks chairman …

Discussion: Vanity Fair

John Hudson / Washington Post:

A shadowy group trying to overthrow Kim Jong Un raided a North Korean embassy in broad daylight — Days before President Trump was set to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam, a mysterious incident in Spain threatened to derail the entire high-stakes nuclear summit.

Discussion: New York Post

Anna Nemtsova / The Daily Beast:

Trump's Breitbart Biker Threat Came From the Putin Playbook—Then Tweet Deleted After Mosque Massacre — Trump told Breitbart there could be biker violence against leftists. Sounded even worse after New Zealand mosque massacre manifesto called him “a symbol of renewed white identity.” — Anna Nemtsova

Discussion: USA Today, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Joe.My.God.

Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:

One year in, Facebook's big algorithm change has spurred an angry, Fox News-dominated — and very engaged! — News Feed — It's been a little over a year since Facebook announced major algorithm changes that would decrease the amount of news in News Feed, instead prioritizing non-publisher content …

Discussion: Mashable and Fox News