Does the Media Really Know the Atlanta Shooter’s Motive Better Than He Does?

On Tuesday, a gunman targeted three massage parlors in the Atlanta area, killing eight people and wounding one more. Police arrested a suspect, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long, who confessed to the shooting, claiming he had been motivated by a sexual addiction and aimed to remove “temptation.” However, since six of the eight victims were Asian American women, leftist commentators, Democrats, and legacy media outlets rushed to the conclusion that Long’s true motive was anti-Asian hatred tracing back to “white supremacy.” Many noted the rise in anti-Asian harassment during the COVID-19 pandemic.