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Please note!
This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

Does evidence suggest that the 2016 mass shooting at an Orlando nightclub was a hate crime targeted against the LGBTQ community?

By Lisa Freedland
NO

Evidence suggests that the June 12, 2016, Pulse nightclub shooting was not a hate crime targeted at the LGBTQ community, but a politically motivated act of terror in response to U.S. intervention in the Middle East. Shooter Omar Mateen likely did not know that the club, Pulse, was a gay club, instead choosing it due to its lack of security.

In the hours before the attack, Mateen googled “downtown Orlando nightclubs” and visited three other potential targets. He then drove back and forth between Pulse and a nightclub called Eve, likely deciding on Pulse given the “heavy police presence” surrounding Eve.

A rumor that Mateen told his wife he would be attacking Pulse as the two drove past it days before the shooting was discredited by cell phone records.

Mateen was an adherent of the Islamic State group, a terrorist group whose extremist positions include violent homophobia.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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