The best Memorial Day mattress sales, from Avocado to Zinus

Person laying on Birch mattress

Splurging while you shop isn’t always advisable. Just because something is the most expensive thing doesn’t mean it’s the best thing. Except when it comes to mattresses. Usually, the expensive ones are pretty good.

But why shell out for a mattress? Well, you’ll be using it every day, for one. For that reason alone, you’ll want something that doesn’t have you waking up with horrible back pain every morning. Also, a mattress is ostensibly an item that you’ll have for a very long time, so you want to buy something that’ll last for years to come.

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We found the best Memorial Day mattress sales happening this weekend and put them all in one place for you. (You’re welcome.) Check out our picks below.

Best Memorial Day mattress sales 2022:

Allswell

  • 20% off sitewide with code MEMDAY20

Amerisleep

  • $450 off any mattress with code AS450

Avocado

  • Save up to $800 on mattresses with code SAVE10

  • Save up to $281 on bed frames and bases with code SAVE10

  • Save up to $63 on bedding with code SAVE10

Bear

  • Get 30% off sitewide with code MD30

  • Free accessories with all mattress purchases

Birch

  • Get $400 off your mattress and 2 free Eco-Rest Pillows

Brentwood Home

  • Save 10% sitewide with code SAVE10

Brooklyn Bedding

  • Get 25% off sitewide with code MEMORIAL25

Casper

  • Up to $800 off mattresses

DreamCloud

  • Get $200 off, plus $499 in free accessories

Eight Sleep

  • Save up to $250 on The Pod mattress

Helix

  • $100 off any $600 mattress with code MDSALE100

  • $150 off orders of $1,250 and over with code MDSALE150

  • $200 off orders of $1,700 and over with code MDSALE200

  • Get two free Dream Pillows with any mattress purchase

Layla

  • Up to $200 off mattresses (and get two free pillows)

Leesa

  • Up to $700 off mattresses, plus two free pillows

Nectar

  • Save $100 and get $499 worth of free accessories

Nest Bedding

  • Save 25% on select mattresses

Purple

  • Up to $300 off mattresses

Saatva

  • Save up to $450 on select mattresses

Serta

  • Up to $1,000 off select mattresses

Tuft & Needle

  • Up to $500 off select mattresses

Zinus

  • Get up to 40% on select mattresses and bedroom furniture

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Finding hope despite the hopelessness of mass shootings

Two women hugging with a crowd around them following a mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

Becoming numb is inevitable when living in a country that makes killing people easy. After learning that a gunman murdered 19 children and two adults at a Texas elementary school, it took me nearly 24 hours to weep. Distraught yet desensitized, I couldn’t express grief. I’d seen a version of this happen so many times before.

Then, on Twitter, I came across a tribute to Eva Mireles, the 4th grade teacher who died trying to shield her students from an 18-year-old reportedly armed with an AR-15-style rifle. Her bereft daughter composed a heartbreaking goodbye in the Notes app and shared it with the world. “I want you to come back to me mom,” she wrote. 

I am a mother but you needn’t be one to grasp the devastating grief and longing contained in this single sentence. In Uvalde, the small town west of San Antonio where the shooting took place, the violence stole parents from their babies, and babies from their parents. 


“I want you to come back to me mom.”

Numbness to this reality, I think, is one way to cope with the fact that trauma is a feature of American life, not an unintended defect. When the gunman attacked in Uvalde, it’d been just 10 days since a shooter with alleged white supremacist views targeted and killed Black shoppers in Buffalo. Losing hope is inevitable when living in a country that makes killing people easy.

Each mass shooting brings renewed calls for gun safety reform — and the crushing realization that entrenched corporate and conservative political interests are opposed to meaningful legislation to prevent people from obtaining firearms when they shouldn’t possess them. Though the most common proposals — the expansion of background checks and use of “red flag” laws to temporarily confiscate a gun from someone who is an imminent danger to themselves or others — may not have stopped the shooter in Uvalde, they might stop other killers.

We can debate when the word trauma should be deployed, but I can think of few things more psychologically distressing and damaging than seeing people regularly slaughtered in schools, theaters, grocery stores, and houses of worship, and realizing that numerous politicians and their supporters refuse to find ways to stop the bloodshed. When pleas to save us from carnage go unheeded, there is no safe harbor. 

The implications of such trauma reverberate on social media where people, myself included, voice their rage and despair. There are calls to vote, organize, and rally. There are digital memorials to the dead, like Mireles’ daughter’s letter. There is collective grief and, counterintuitively, the isolation and loneliness of processing it from behind a screen. Humans are not well-equipped to transition between answering their email and sobbing while looking at the smiling faces of children who died by gunfire in their classroom. Wondering if a child they love will be next is too much uncertainty to bear. 

If you feel hopeless in this deluge of pain, it’s partly because social media is both an outlet and a gauntlet. Platforms make it possible to express a sentiment or opinion, but there’s no guarantee that our lived reality will change, especially when politicians opposed to reform post the latest version of their “thoughts and prayers” condolences. There’s also no assurance that what happened in Uvalde won’t be turned into someone’s false flag conspiracy theory to spread on social media, injecting yet more horror into the lives of the bereaved. 

We live in an era of cascading traumas. From mass shootings to a pandemic that’s claimed 1 million lives in the U.S. to the crisis of climate change, America is a country ripe for despair. I have written before about strategies to cope with relentless tragedy. Media exposure to graphic imagery and details can lead to anxiety, acute stress, and post-traumatic stress symptoms. Some argue that we must confront the graphic nature of what happened at Robb Elementary School, but the research suggests that can have harmful effects. There’s no need, for example, to doomscroll in search of details about what physical condition police found murdered children and their teachers. We can be generous with our compassion and resources, in support of the grieving families, without knowing such specifics. 

SEE ALSO:

How to help after the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas

I’ve previously argued that radical acceptance is one way to cope with a crisis of this magnitude. The psychologist and meditation teacher Tara Brach described the practice to me as “the courage to face and accept reality, our current experience, what’s happening now.” She also likes to frame radical acceptance as a question: “What’s happening right now inside me, and can I be with this with kindness?” Starting from this place, Brach argues, we can find the resolve to fight for justice.    

These and other important coping strategies help us emotionally survive another day, but how long can they steady us in a political system that knowingly inflicts all manner of trauma on its people? And this harm is disproportionately experienced by historically marginalized groups: Black, brown, and Indigenous people; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people; poor people; and people with disabilities, among others. 

This week, I am searching for hope that the deaths of 19 schoolchildren will lead to laws that prevent future massacres. Some say that will never happen, that we must learn to live with guns because there are not enough votes in Congress or on the Supreme Court to pass and defend gun reform. This may ultimately be true, but I also believe that a society that gives up its vision of a safer future is worse off than one that fights for it against the odds.

Still, determination can wane. I’ve found that social media often obliterates hope as quickly as it inspires it. Noticing that two very unlikely allies have partnered to lobby for reform is promising. Recognizing that their opponents get feverish praise from supporters is gut-wrenching. 

But the hope I’m searching for isn’t viral. Instead, it’s the enduring transformation that happens when we make meaning of our trauma, often by taking action. Honestly, I don’t know where that hope is right now, but it feels essential to find when I look at the beautiful faces of the children who died in Uvalde, when I read the words that Adalynn wrote for her mother, Eva Mireles, when I think of the mass shooting survivors championing reform, who refuse to surrender their will and conviction. The possibility of meaningful change may feel intolerably distant. But if ever there was a time to cling to hope and demand reform, it’s now.

If you want to talk to someone or are experiencing suicidal thoughts, Crisis Text Line provides free, confidential support 24/7. Text CRISIS to 741741 to be connected to a crisis counselor. Contact the NAMI HelpLine at 1-800-950-NAMI, Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. ET, or email info@nami.org. You can also call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Here is a list of international resources.

‘This Is Us,’ a TV triumph, more than earned its simple finale

A man (Justin Hartley as Kevin), a woman (Chrissy Metz as Kate), and another man (Sterling K. Brown as Randall) sitting together on the step of a cabin.

After six seasons, more than 100 episodes, and far too many tissues to track, This Is Us bid fans a moving farewell.

Since the penultimate episode of Season 6, “The Train” — which was so devastating it actually made Mandy Moore throw up — fans have long feared what the series finale would have in store. In a refreshing, much-needed twist, rather than more flashy grand gestures or cutting tragedies, the May 24 finale, titled “Us,” was a simple celebration of life, an ode to the people and moments that make it worth living, and a reminder of the highs and lows we encounter along the way.

In present-day scenes, the episode follows the Big Three and their families on the day of Rebecca’s funeral. Meanwhile, flashbacks put the focus on a lazy Saturday in the Pearson house when Jack was still alive. The day is spent teaching Kevin and Randall how to shave, having heart-to-hearts, watching home movies, and playing Pin the Tail on the Donkey as a family.

A man (Milo Ventimiglia as Jack) holding a baby in a store while a woman (Mandy Moore as Rebecca) holds up a Pin The Tail on the Donkey game.


Credit: Ron Batzdorff / NBC

“When you’re young, you’re always trying to be older. Then, when you get old, you’re always trying to go back — be back,” Jack tells his kids in a flashback. “I mean, that’s what we’re doing, just collecting these little moments. We don’t recognize them when we’re in them because we’re too busy looking forward. Then we spend the rest of our lives looking back — trying to remember, trying to be back inside them.”

In a sense, that message is what This Is Us has been preaching all along. On the surface, it’s a story about family. But the constant juxtaposition of timelines also serves to remind viewers how crucial their time on this Earth is — that days should be spent savoring life, loved ones, and little moments.

While the penultimate episode was a wrecking ball of grief, the finale helped characters and viewers alike pick up the pieces and move forward. In its final hour, the show reminded us of the importance of having people to lean on — family and friends with whom you can share love, pain, anger, mess, and joy. It showcased the immense legacy a single human leaves behind after parting from this Earth. And it proved an easily forgotten truth: Even when it all feels pointless, a piece of very good news on a very bad day can give you purpose again. The finale was simple but effective; by peeking into the past it brought everything full circle.

The cast of "This Is Us" playing a game of Pin the Tail on the Donkey.


Credit: Ron Batzdorff / NBC

In addition to a stellar creative team, a talented cast, a creative format, and a crushing score, one of the things that’s always made This Is Us so great was its ability to celebrate and seek out the unexpected, often hidden, meaning in everyday life. Like so many other shows, the NBC drama nailed the emotions around big milestones like births, deaths, weddings, and more, but it also mastered the art of small storytelling, which is no easy feat.

This Is Us was such a TV triumph because it understood how to make little moments feel big. By stringing together years’ worth of everyday conversations, trips to the park, shared meals, fights, makeups, games of Pin the Tail on the Donkey played, tears cried, and unexpected formative experiences, the series gave viewers a rare look at life’s big picture. By the time we got to Rebecca’s funeral, This Is Us had more than achieved its goal. And the powerful decision to drown out Rebecca’s service, the speeches, the eulogy, and the Pearson’s grief in that highly-anticipated scene was far from lazy storytelling. It was a moment of great self-awareness amongst the writers. We didn’t need more Pearson speeches or tears; we needed to heal, reflect, and say goodbye.

Though the story lines in This Is Us at times veered into cheesy, eye-roll territory, the storytelling was always beautiful. This series and its complex, kindhearted characters comforted people through two presidential elections, a pandemic, and countless other tragedies since 2016. And as someone who regularly cried on her couch come This Is Us Tuesdays, I know how cathartic those releases could be.

The series was something special, and it will forever remain a touching portrait of humanity. But much like the Pearson’s tough matriarch, This Is Us earned a rest.

This Is Us is now streaming on Hulu.

YouTube rolls out new content-specific creator analytics for YouTube Shorts, livestreams

YouTube logo

Once upon a time, YouTube users would visit the platform to catch their favorite longform videos. Their favorite channels and creators would upload them and those videos would be viewable anytime after on-demand.

Those days are long gone. YouTube now offers multiple different content types, from quick bite-sized 60-second videos, known as YouTube Shorts, to livestreaming videos. The platform even lets creators publish posts with text, images, and polls.

However, YouTube’s analytics for creators has not really updated with the times. Viewership, engagement, and other relevant data were displayed equally across these different content types, without consideration for the different ways these types of content are consumed or how users interact with them.

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YouTube is now changing that though. The platform has provided Mashable a sneak peek at its new analytics display so that creators can better understand how their different types of content are performing.

YouTube's new content-type analytics

YouTube’s new content-type analytics
Credit: YouTube

Creators will likely first notice that the “Reach” and “Engagement” tabs in YouTube Studio’s Analytics have been replaced with a new “Content” tab. Previously, those two tabs broke down viewership, watch time, traffic sources, and other data for the channel’s content as a whole. The new Content tab, however, will provide options to further break down the data by content type. Creators will notice “Video,” “Shorts,” “Live,” and “Posts” tabs that will provide reach and engagement data that previously wasn’t broken down by content-types.

For creators who would like to see all the data together as it was previously displayed before the update, the “All” tab will take care of that as well. (The one caveat is the content-specific analytics are only available for videos created from Jan. 1, 2022 forward. However, YouTube stresses that no historical analytics data has been removed and can still be seen in the “All” tab.)

The ability to separate content types in analytics is a huge change for creators. As some YouTubers have been finding success with YouTube Shorts, for example, it doesn’t make sense to compare the watch time data of those 60 second clips to longform content that provides users with many more minutes of runtime.

YouTube Shorts analytics

The analytics for YouTube Shorts specifically breaks down data unique to shortform content.
Credit: YouTube

“Our hope is that by creating the Content tab and separating these formats in Analytics, our creators will have the insights they need to tailor a content plan that best helps them reach their goals,” said YouTube Analytics Product Lead Robin Zueger in an exclusive for Mashable. 

According to Zueger, YouTubers who create across all of YouTube’s video mediums — the “multiformat creator” —will especially benefit from these changes as it will help them better “connect their community with the right content at the right time.”

“The ability for creators to see and compare the viewership of different video formats will help them make content strategies that work best for their channel and community,”  Zueger explained.

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And this change is just the beginning, too. Zueger said that the feedback from creators “will inform next steps” for YouTube in order to “help enable creators on YouTube to move seamlessly between the formats available to them on the platform.” Zueger brought up how YouTube livestreams already provide chat messages and concurrent viewer data, something that’s unique only to that video format.

For viewers, YouTube previously rolled out content tabs on channel pages on mobile that allows fans to just view Shorts, livestreams, or uploaded video content. The company is looking at even more ways it can get even more specific for each content-type. 

“We think there’s more opportunities to really customize the analytics of each specific content type to the particular aspects of its format,” said Zueger. “We look forward to building on this model in future iterations of YouTube Analytics.”

Some YouTubers may already have started to notice the change, as the video platform has begun rolling the new analytics system out. YouTube has confirmed to Mashable that everyone should have the update rolled out to their YouTube Studio by May 31. Creators will notice the change on desktop, iOS, and Android.

With this new analytics breakdown, YouTube also solidifies its commitment to these content-types defining the YouTube platform going forward. That’s good news if you’re a creator that’s found success with YouTube’s newer offerings like YouTube Shorts.

Wordle today: Here’s the answer, hints for May 26

Wordle on a phone screen.

It’s Wordle time! It’s a new day, which means there’s a new word puzzle for you to take on. Working it out by yourself is always fun, but if you get stuck, here are some tips and hints to help you figure out the solution.

If you prefer to cut to the chase, skip to the end of this article for the answer to May 26’s Wordle revealed. For those of you who’d rather work out today’s Wordle answer yourself, keep reading for a few tips, clues, and strategies to assist you.

Wordle was originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, but soon spread internationally. Thousands of people around the globe now play this game each day, and fans have even created alternate Wordle versions inspired by the original. This includes battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once. 

In fact, the word puzzle game has proved so popular that the New York Times eventually bought it, and TikTok creators livestream themselves playing.

Not the day you’re after? Here’s the Wordle answer for May 25.

What’s the best Wordle starting word?

The best Wordle starting word is the one that makes you happy. However, if you prefer a strategic approach over an emotional one, we have some ideas to help you select the perfect opening. Such tips include choosing a word with at least two different vowels in it, plus a few common consonants such as S, T, R, or N.

Explore the Wordle archive

One Wordle a day is all well and good, but sometimes it just isn’t enough. If you want to escape into the world of Wordle for a bit longer, the entire archive of past puzzles is available for you to explore whenever you’d like. Just remember to get up and stretch every now and again, and maybe eat something.

Is Wordle getting harder?

If you’ve been finding Wordle too easy, there is a Hard Mode you can enable to give yourself more of a challenge. But unless you activate this mode, we can assure you that Wordle isn’t getting harder. 

Why are there two different Wordle answers some days?

Usually, Wordle solutions are like Highlander: There can be only one. However occasionally the puzzle game will accept two different correct solutions on the same day, in apparent defiance of Wordle law. This aberration is due to changes the New York Times made after it acquired Wordle earlier this year.

Here’s a subtle hint for today’s Wordle answer:

Today’s Wordle solution is a noun, and beneficial to have in any situation.

Does today’s Wordle answer have a double letter?

Yes! Today’s Wordle solution does double up on a letter, so keep that in mind while you puzzle this one out.

Today’s Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with…

Today’s Wordle is brought to you by the letter A, as in “Astronaut” by Stray Kids.

What’s the answer to Wordle today?

It’s your last chance to guess today’s Wordle! We’re finally about to reveal the solution.

Are you ready?

The solution to Wordle #341 is…

ASSET.

An asset is something that is useful or valuable, and can be anything from physical property to a personal characteristic. 

Don’t feel discouraged if you didn’t get it this time! There’s always another day, and with it another Wordle. Come back tomorrow for more helpful clues and hints!

Whatever ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ is, we know it isn’t ‘Kenobi’

Ewan MacGregor in 'Obi-Wan Kenobi,' and Ewan MacGregor on the cover of 'Kenobi'

The details of Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Star Wars limited series starring Ewan McGregor on Disney+ this weekend, is currently under more wraps than a Tusken Raider. Sure, you can make a good Gaffi-stick stab at guessing what questions its story will answer, and we have, but good luck getting the showrunners to confirm a single detail on the record.

Still, here’s one thing Obi-Wan Kenobi director Deborah Chow can tell us: what the show isn’t. For one thing, it isn’t Kenobi.

Chow used the 2013 novel Kenobi by author John Jackson Miller, which covers the beginning of the exiled Jedi’s life, as part of her preparation for directing the series. But while the book version of Obi-Wan’s story was useful in establishing the “tone” of the show, none of its plot points made it into the on-screen version.

“I was coming out of The Mandalorian, which is obviously set in a very different time in the galaxy,” Chow says. “I did a pretty deep dive, and looked at a lot of stuff in the Expanded Universe [the name for all the Star Wars books and comics that were taken out of the series’ official canon in 2014 and rebranded as “Legends”]. I read Kenobi and thought [Miller] did a lovely job … I was trying to get a sense of what this feels like for this character at that point in his life.”

That said, “there was nothing that became specific to the actual series,” Chow admits. “There was more influence on tone than story.”

Ben there, done that

Kenobi finds Obi-Wan trying to piece together his new life during his first year on Tatooine. Miller described it as a similar story to the famous western movie Shane: “the mysterious stranger who rides into town with a past nobody knows,” he told Mashable in 2013. “There are no space battles, no lightsaber battles with Sith Lords … [Obi-Wan] would think it a dereliction of his duty to go running off around the galaxy. He doesn’t know it yet, but he’s kind of serving a prison sentence. He has to atone.”

Contrast that with Obi-Wan Kenobi. One thing we do know about the show is that it does feature Obi-Wan running off around the galaxy, and a lightsaber battle with one Sith lord in particular: Darth Vader. We’re left to presume that Kenobi was an influence on the tone of the Tatooine scenes, at least — and that Obi-Wan’s discovery that Darth Vader survived their duel in Revenge of the Sith is what sends him off-planet, perhaps in search of a more direct kind of atonement.

The book offered one reason for why Obi-Wan adopted the somewhat useless alias “Ben Kenobi”. He did it by accident, revealing his last name to a local woman he rescued. Grasping for a first name, he chose “Ben” because, Miller said, it was the name of a geographic feature on Tatooine. So Obi-Wan will offer a different naming story entirely; perhaps the nickname was bestowed by Luke’s Uncle Ben, with whom Obi-Wan appears to have a contentious relationship in the trailers.

What you need to watch

Meanwhile, casual fans can rest easy. Obi-Wan Kenobi will not contain confusing references to more obscure parts of the Jedi knight’s on-screen story, such as his appearances in the animated series Clone Wars and Rebels.

“Obviously it will be useful to have seen the prequels,” Chow says, referring to Episodes I through III, which take place ten years before Obi-Wan Kenobi begins. But there was an effort to not get too “into the weeds” of the wider story, she says — so if you can recall the basics of those movies, especially the parts which cover the downfall of Anakin Skywalker and his transition into Darth Vader, you’re good.

“One of the things [writer] Joby [Harold] and I would check is, does this still work if you take the Star Wars out of it? Does it still work on a human level? We’d always talk about Joby’s mom — is she going to get it? You know, she doesn’t remember everything … well, we hope she remembers who Anakin is.”

The last Lucasfilm offering on Disney+, Book of Boba Fett, was widely criticized for a story that zig-zagged away from its main focus, seeming at times like an extra season of The Mandalorian. But Chow assures us that Obi-Wan Kenobi will feel like a much more coherent tale.

“We absolutely approached this as one big story,” Chow says — which makes sense, given that the show was originally a spin-off movie. The transition to Disney+ limited series took place before she joined the project; still, Chow’s involvement appears to have made it more of a character-driven tale, rather than fan service for hardcore Star Wars nerds.

“If it added to the fabric of the world or if it felt like it was organic, certainly we would” include answers to questions that fans have been wondering about, Chow says. “But we tried never to do it if there wasn’t a purpose to the story.”

We’re about to find out if the Force was with her in that effort. Obi-Wan Kenobi premieres on Disney+ on May 27.

Two innocent trans women smeared online after the Uvalde school shooting

Robb Elementary School

Following the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday – the deadliest school shooting in the U.S. in a decade – two trans women found their images being spread online with claims that they were the now-deceased shooter.

Mashable spoke to both of these individuals. Neither have any connection to the shooter or the shooting. There is no proof that the deceased shooter, who killed 21 people including 19 students inside Robb Elementary School, is transgender.

On the evening of May 24, confirmed photos of the Uvalde school shooter were being shared on Twitter alongside pictures of people who had similar long hair and features. Sabrina noticed one of those photos was of her. In the photo, Sabrina, a 22-year-old living in New York City is seen drinking out of a bottle. She posted the photo on Twitter just 4 days prior. Sabrina declined to share her last name for this story.

SEE ALSO:

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Sabrina quickly replied to a number of tweets in an attempt to debunk the disinformation. 

“Please delete them, i dont want my image associated with a tragedy,” Sabrina tweeted.

While some did delete their tweets, others demanded proof. Sabrina even posted a new photo of herself in front of the framed painting that can be seen in the background of the original photo as proof she was the individual in the picture. 

But the photo kept spreading.

Sabrina decided to lock down her Twitter account and go private for the night, basically closing access to her tweets to all but her few dozen followers.

One interesting thing about the photo being spread, according to Sabrina, was that it was “uncropped” and revealed an additional picture frame hanging on the wall above her head. While she had posted a version of that photo on Twitter days earlier, she had cropped out that picture frame in her public tweet.

“Only thing I can suspect is that they took it from a gc [group chat] im in on discord,” Sabrina told Mashable. 

As for why she was targeted, specifically? It’s unclear. But Sabrina said it’s “safe to say” because she is trans.

While Sabrina believes her photo was ripped from a private Discord group she no longer belongs to, the photos were falsely connected to the mass shooting on 4chan. The imageboard has long been a hangout for “edgelords” and internet trolls, known as a home to some of the internet’s worst users. However, the forum has recently been thrust into the spotlight once again following the shooting in Buffalo two weeks ago. The white supremacist shooter cited 4chan as a major influence on his views and belief in the far-right conspiracy theory, The Great Replacement, which led to the supermarket shooting that left 10 dead.

With 4chan users manipulating the event to foment anti-trans sentiment, far right-wing users quickly latched on and shared the photos of the innocent trans women to falsely claim that the Uvalde school shooter was transgender, which then spread to other platforms. On Twitter, tweets circulating the photos of the trans women were easily found in top trending topics about the shooting. The photos were disseminated on Instagram and Facebook as well. Andrew Torba, the founder of the far-right social network, Gab, shared one such photo to his 3.6 million followers on his platform.

The photo that Torba shared on Gab has been confirmed to be a trans woman named Sam Palacios, a 20-year-old living in Georgia. For months, Sam has shared photos of herself on LGBTQ+ friendly subreddits on the popular social sharing platform Reddit. Unbeknownst to Sam, those photos would later be ripped from Reddit and used to tie her to a school shooting. Soon after, users started to comment on her months-old Reddit photos.

“I don’t live in Texas tho,” Sam replied to the first comment that was left about the shooting. “He’s dead, how could it be me[?]”

Reddit

Like in Sabrina’s case, Sam attempted to squash the misinformation as quickly as possible by replying to Reddit comments and boosting posts debunking the falsehoods on other social media platforms. She posted a new photo of herself to Reddit in front of the same trans pride flag that was visible in some of her now-viral pics. The next day, Sam posted another new photo holding up a sign with Wednesday’s date, “May 25.”

Reddit

Many of those sharing the misinformation about the two transgender women claimed these were photos posted by the shooter on his Instagram page. The shooter, identified as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, did indeed post photos of himself on their Instagram Story right before he committed the heinous act. The photos include selfies and an image of his firearm on his lap. These three photos were the only pictures posted to his account before it was removed from the platform. The photos portraying transgender individuals never appeared on his feed.

Perhaps the most egregious tweet surrounding the disinformation involving the photos of transgender individuals came from a sitting U.S. Congressman.

Paul Gosar deleted tweet

U.S. Congressman Paul Gosar amplified falsehoods about the Uvalde school shooter to smear trans people.
Credit: Mashable Screenshot

Based on the fake photos and disinformation being passed around, Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) falsely claimed in a since-deleted tweet that shooter was a “transsexual leftist illegal alien.” Again, there has been no evidence the shooter is trans nor do we know their politics or motivation. The shooter was born in North Dakota and went to high school in Texas.

Thankfully, both Sabrina and Sam tell Mashable that the spread of the false information and comments they’ve received from the previous night are starting to subside. Sabrina felt comfortable enough to unlock her Twitter account as well. Sam, however, is still “keeping an eye out.”

Over the past few months, there has been a noticeable uptick in anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric in our political climate. Online, those identifying as LGBTQ+ have found themselves being smeared as “groomers.” Conservative personality Candace Owens, for example, was still spreading falsehoods about the shooter being trans on Wednesday afternoon based on disinformation regarding Sabrina and Sam’s photos.

It’s a concerning trend in the wrong direction. But, sadly it’s also, as Sam perfectly summed it up, “just another day of being trans.”

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey steps down from company’s board of directors

Image of Jack Dorsey with a beard wearing a tie-dye shirt at a bitcoin conference

The bearded one has cut all ties with Twitter.

On Wednesday, former co-founder and former CEO of Twitter Jack Dorsey stepped down from the board of directors, which means he no longer has any involvement in the social media company.

The move isn’t a surprise — this was always a part of the plan when Dorsey stepped down as CEO in November 2021. “Mr. Dorsey stepped down as Chief Executive Officer effective November 29, 2021 but will continue to serve on our board of directors as a non-employee director until his term expires at the Annual Meeting,” reads the proxy statement of the 2022 annual shareholders meetings.

But it does underscore the growing uncertainty of Twitter’s future thanks to its pending acquisition by SpaceX and Tesla magnate Elon Musk. For the record, Dorsey has supported Musk’s acquisition offer, tweeting “Elon is the singular solution I trust.”

Dorsey began distancing himself from Twitter in order to focus on his other venture Block (formerly Square). It is unclear what his future plans will be.

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Congratulations, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. You played yourselves.