The details of the Christchurch massacre against hundreds of Muslims in two separate mosques are still unfolding, but as at least one of the terrorists had planned, their motives, immortalized on the Internet, are clear. The alt-right, disparate but dangerous, wants a race war.

The shooter left behind a manifesto ridden with a number of red herrings, inserting polarizing diversions to distract from the fundamental motivation of fear: the white replacement conspiracy theory, a zero-sum view of the world predicated on white racial resentment. Like all alt-right villainy and scum, these terrorists are raw agents of chaos, and ones whose words cannot be taken at face value.

Kellyanne Conway took to television today to defend President Trump with horrible advice. "People should read the entire" manifesto, Conway encouraged, as a way to convince the public that Trump didn't actually inspire the attack.

While Conway is correct that Trump, whose policies were denounced by the shooter, is not responsible for an alt-right shooter openly influenced by European white supremacists decades older than the Trump presidency, her advice isn't just misguided. It's dangerous.

The only way to start a race war is to sow chaos and divisions along more salient tribal lines in the first place. The manifesto was written for public consumption and to function as propaganda. Not one word of it can be taken at face value, and everyone uncritically promulgated is just furthering this coward's agenda.

The manifesto includes a number of intentionally divisive red herrings, pointing towards wildly popular YouTuber PewDiePie (who issued a poignant condemnation of the attacks) and Turning Point USA's Candace Owens (who mocked "The Left" and issued no denunciation of the event) as inspirations.



LOL! 😂



FACT: I’ve never created any content espousing my views on the 2nd Amendment or Islam.



The Left pretending I inspired a mosque massacre in...New Zealand because I believe black America can do it without government hand outs is the reachiest reach of all reaches!! LOL! https://t.co/4vM1aXleL4 — Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) March 15, 2019



Owens, who's neither conservative nor alt-right, fell into the trap of the latter. The shooter explained that he intended to divide the Western world with his massacre and manifesto. But in a moment when the entire West should unite behind peaceful people of faith being slain in the sanctity of worship, Owens immediately went on the offensive, anticipating a reaction the Left hadn't yet, and ought not, espouse.

How likely is it that a white nationalist willing to end his life in the name of terrorism actually gained inspiration from a black woman who talks more about loyalty to Trump than any tangible policies? The answer is that it's absolutely minimal, but the terrorist knew that we would cling onto the most politicized portions of his manifesto and not the parts that would unite Western liberalism against it.

The manifesto's use of red herrings, such as bringing Trump up as a "symbol" and claiming that the shooter is an eco-fascist, serve the same purpose as Russian trolls' campaign of disinformation. While the Russians wanted Trump in office, they still shared radically left-wing and divisive propaganda, such as dishonest Black Lives Matter accounts. The goal wasn't just to advance an ideology but add to social chaos. And it worked.

While claims that anyone from Chelsea Clinton to the president are to blame for the shooting must be countered, doing so by uncritically sharing toxic propaganda won't exonerate Trump. It will just spread the hate and notoriety that an evil terrorist dreamed of sharing across the world.