The Propaganda FilesPulse shooter cast as a closeted gay man who chose a gay club
After the June 2016 Orlando massacre, outlets amplified a man's claim on Univision that he had been Omar Mateen's lover and that the attack on Pulse was revenge against gay Latino men, and coverage widely treated Pulse as deliberately chosen because it was a gay club.
Recast an ISIS-inspired attack as a personal hate crime, playing down the terrorism angle Republicans pressed in 2016.
What was reported
After the June 2016 Orlando massacre, outlets amplified a man's claim on Univision that he had been Omar Mateen's lover and that the attack on Pulse was revenge against gay Latino men, and coverage widely treated Pulse as deliberately chosen because it was a gay club.
What actually happened
Within days, federal officials told CBS and the AP that the FBI had found no corroborating evidence Mateen was gay: no dating apps on his devices, no photos, no messages. At the 2018 trial of his widow, prosecutors said Mateen had first scouted Disney Springs, and they conceded there was no evidence he knew Pulse was a gay club.
The proof
FBI findings reported in June 2016 and prosecutors' concession at the 2018 Noor Salman trial that there was no evidence Mateen knew Pulse was a gay venue.
The receipt. Copy this and paste it anywhere:
Pulse shooter cast as a closeted gay man who chose a gay club — Unproven. FBI findings reported in June 2016 and prosecutors' concession at the 2018 Noor Salman trial that there was no evidence Mateen knew Pulse was a gay venue. Full file: https://www.thepropagandafiles.com/case/pulse-shooter-gay-lover-target-narrative/
Original reporting
- CBS New York: Mateen's alleged male lover claims shooting was 'revenge'https://cbsnews.com/amp/newyork/news/omar-mateen-gay-lover-speaks
Corrections, findings & records
- CBS New York: No evidence Mateen had relationships with menhttps://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/mateen-same-sex-relationships
- Tampa Bay Times (AP): Officials see no evidence gunman was gayhttps://www.tampabay.com/news/nation/officials-no-evidence-orlando-gunman-was-gay/2283082
- NBC News: What really happened that night at Pulse (2018)https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/what-really-happened-night-pulse-n882571
- CBS News: Prosecutors say shooter first intended to attack Disney (2018)https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/orlando-pulse-nightclub-shooter-omar-mateen-intended-to-attack-disney-shopping-complex-prosecutors-say
Archived copies
Stories get edited after publication. These open the Internet Archive's earliest saved copy of each original.
- Archived copy: CBS New York: Mateen's alleged male lover claims shooting was 'revenge'https://web.archive.org/web/2/https://cbsnews.com/amp/newyork/news/omar-mateen-gay-lover-speaks