Prominent journalists, liberals fall for hoax claiming Gov. Abbott paid Uvalde victims' families for photo-ops

Left-wing activists and prominent journalists that write for liberal publications spread a hoax on Thursday that Texas Governor Greg Abbott paid the families of the Uvalde, Texas shooting massacre victims for photo ops.

The shocking false claims came from the Twitter account @MyCancerJourne3, which stated that following the Robb Elementary School mass shooting, a representative for Governor Abbott showed up to his residence and attempted to coerce his family. The post has since gone viral.

"Uvalde Update: We were finally able to see my living nephews body to confirm identity. Shot in the face. While leaving to return home we were followed by what was assumed to be media, which win we do not wish to speak during this time. 4 mins after returning home a knock on the door. It's a representative for Gov Greg Abbott. He informed us he's willing to pay us to stand with the Gov and say we don't need stronger gun laws. To which almost got this clown hurt. He was asked to leave and said that if we speak about this conversation we will be facing charges and possibly worse," the account alleged.

"We responded with f*ck you, try me and find out. Then we were told people get hurt and disappear all the time. F*ck Greg Abbott and this harassment while we all mourn," they concluded.

Through investigative work, The Post Millennial editor-at-large Andy Ngo uncovered that the person behind the account is 43-year-old Jason R. Nauertz of Spokane, Washington. Nauertz does not reside in Texas where the mass shooting occurred, despite claims that he helped identify his nephew's body to law enforcement officers.

According to Ngo, Jason Nauretz is an anti-Trump activist that has encouraged committing acts of violence against his supporters. He has bragged about personally shooting at vehicles with Trump flags in the past. Nauertz has also claimed that he is a Purple Heart recipient, a 9/11 first responder, and had a nephew that was shot and killed by police.

However, there is no record of his name in the Purple Heart recipient database.

Left-wing verified accounts amplified the allegations and made Nauertz's post go viral on Twitter without verifying the claims.

Among those that helped amplify the hoax include LA Times columnist Patt Morrison who has won multiple Pulitzer Prizes, Richard Whittaker, an editor at the Austin Chronicle, CBS news anchor Shon Gables, USA Today digital producer Brandon Gray, left-wing journalist Keith Olbermann, and actress Rosanna Arquette.

Arquette thanked Jason Nauertz for his "courage," while an editor at Entertainment Weekly, Yolanda Machado, called on the FBI to investigate Abbott, while Olbermann called for an investigation from the Department of Justice.

According to Ngo, Jason Nauretz claimed to be black. Pictures on his now-deleted Facebook account indicate that those claims are false. Nauertz is a white man.

Following the thread of tweets from Nauretz, he claimed that his account was hacked and that those posted were made during the time span the account was hacked. The account has now been disabled, with posts relating to Uvalde being deleted.

The tragic school shooting by a lone gunman at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Tex., resulted in a death toll of 21, with 19 children and two teachers massacred. Tuesday's mass shooting is now on record as one of the worst in US history.