Fact check: 98% of mass shootings are committed by cisgender men

1. Summary of the results

The original statement claims that 98% of mass shootings are committed by cisgender men. According to the analyses, multiple sources support this claim, including ^[1], which mentions a 2023 Reuters Fact Check confirming that mass shootings are overwhelmingly carried out by cisgender men in the U.S. ^[1]. Additionally, ^[2] and ^[3] also support the claim, citing reports from the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Association Center, The Violence Prevention Project, the Gun Violence Archive, the FBI, and the Violence Prevention Project ^{[2] [3]}. However, it's essential to note that the exact percentage of 98% is not explicitly confirmed by all sources, but rather the majority of mass shootings being committed by cisgender men is a consistent finding ^{[1] [2] [3]}. Other sources, such as ^[4], report that perpetrators are overwhelmingly male (95.3%), but do not directly address the claim about cisgender men ^[4].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Some sources do not provide information about the gender identity of mass shooters, only their gender, which may not be the same as gender identity ^{[5] [6]}. This distinction is crucial, as it may lead to inaccurate assumptions about the relationship between gender identity and mass shootings. Furthermore, sources like ^[7] and ^[8] discuss the victimization of transgender people and LGBT individuals, highlighting the importance of considering the broader context of violence and discrimination against these groups ^{[7] [8]}. It's also worth noting that the original statement does not account for the complexities of gender identity and the potential limitations of the data used to support the claim. For instance, ^[4] reports that 97.7% of mass shooters in the database were male, but this does not necessarily imply that all of these individuals were cisgender ^[4].

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original statement may be subject to potential misinformation or bias, as it presents a specific percentage (98%) without explicitly citing a source to support this exact figure ^{[1] [2] [3]}. While multiple sources confirm that the majority of mass shootings are committed by cisgender men, the precision of the 98% figure is not universally verified. This could lead to oversimplification or misrepresentation of the data, potentially perpetuating harmful stereotypes or misconceptions about gender identity and violence. The beneficiaries of this framing could be individuals or groups seeking to advance a particular agenda or narrative about gender identity and mass shootings, potentially at the expense of nuanced understanding and accurate representation of the complex issues involved ^{[1] [2] [3]}.