In some cases, misinformation about mass shootings or other events are spread by well-intentioned social media users trying to be helpful. In other cases, it can be the work of grifters looking to start fake fundraisers or draw attention to their website or organization.

Then there are the trolls who seemingly do it for fun.

Fringe online communities, including on 4chan, often use mass shootings and other tragedies as opportunities to sow chaos, troll the public and push harmful narratives, according to Ben Decker, founder and CEO of the digital investigations consultancy Memetica.

Source: Misinformation and conspiracy theories spiral after Texas mass school shooting – National | Globalnews.ca

Six mass shootings have occurred in Texas during Gov. Greg Abbott’s 7½ years in office. He has offered prayers and condemned each.

The murders of five police officers in Dallas were “acts of cowardice.” The killing of 26 in Sutherland Springs was a “horrific act.” The high school shooting in Santa Fe that took 10 lives was an “act of evil.” The slaying of 23 at an El Paso Walmart was a “senseless act of violence” while the shooting deaths of seven in Midland-Odessa three weeks later were a “senseless and cowardly act.”

The slaughter of 21 at an elementary school in Uvalde was a “senseless crime,” which, Abbott added at a news conference Wednesday, “could have been worse.”

In the past, Abbott has suggested state leaders could do something — would do something — to prevent the next mass shooting. That same call to action was missing from the governor’s remarks at Uvalde High School. Though at times his voice wavered in anger, Abbott made no specific proposals for the coming legislative session to address gun violence.

He raised no issue with the fact that the alleged shooter had been able to purchase two rifles and 375 rounds of ammunition without raising suspicion. He suggested mental illness drove the troubled young man to violence and called for increased access to health care.

“I asked the sheriff and others an open-ended question … ‘What is the problem here?’” Abbott said. “And they were straightforward and emphatic — they said we have a problem with mental health illness in this community and then they elaborated on the magnitude of the mental health challenges they are facing in the community and the need for more mental health support in this region.”

Source: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has few suggestions on preventing mass shootings | The Texas Tribune

Source: The meat and dairy farmers who are going vegan – BBC News

“We found adding between 18 percent and 22 percent of crumb rubber generates an ideal balance in terms of improving rut and fatigue resistance to traffic loads, while resisting UV aging,” said Filippo Giustozzi, lead author of the study. “This acts so effectively as a sunscreen for roads that it actually makes the surface last twice as long as regular bitumen. We knew that UV would be a factor in road degradation, but not by what degree or how to protect against it, as nobody has really been looking at this aspect.”

The other advantage of the technique is that it gives old tires a new lease on life. These waste products are a major environmental hazard that keeps building up, so useful ways to recycle them are welcome.

Source: Recycled tires make for roads that last twice as long in hot sunshine

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