Ever since federal agents shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday, the social media platform X has been flooded with right-wing disinformation about the man. That’s not surprising, given that X has become ground zero for fake news after Elon Musk bought the site in late 2022. But what is notable about the junk being pushed on social media right now is that it feels so desperate. They’re trying to sully Pretti’s life and legacy. And it’s simply not working.

Pretti, by all accounts, was an exceptional human being who cared about his community. He was an ICU nurse at the Department of Veterans Affairs in Minneapolis and a lawful gun owner with no criminal record. Pretti was a man whose image is hard to tarnish. But disinformation agents are doing their best to make that happen.

Take, for example, the claim on X that Pretti was fired three months ago from the hospital where he worked. Screenshots from what appear to be a news article have spread, reading, “Hospital Director Speaks Out: Former Employee Alex Pretti Fired Three Months Ago Amid Multiple Complaints of Inappropriate Behavior.”

Where is this supposed article from? It appears on a website called BuzzReport247 that just makes shit up. The article includes photos that purport to show Pretti in a dress, but they’re clearly not him, racking up over 1.2 million views at the time of this writing. And the article itself falsely claims he made “perverted actions toward vulnerable individuals under the hospital’s care.” It goes on and on, making false claims that aren’t even worth repeating here. It’s bullshit and completely fabricated.

It’s honestly one of the laziest, most idiotic hit-pieces we’ve ever seen. However, some people on X appear to believe it’s true. And there’s no community note at the time of this writing that points out to users that it’s nonsense. The other articles on BuzzReport247 are transparently AI slop with ridiculous headlines like: “THE OLD JANITOR THEY MOCKED: How a $64 Million Apache Helicopter, a Dirty Mop, and a pair of Hidden Wings Exposed the Arrogance of a Captain Who Thought He Knew It All, Only to Be Crushed by the Legend Standing Right in Front of Him in a Hangar Full of Silence and Shame.”

That’s quite a mouthful. It’s just the bottom of the barrel disinformation and low-information voter bait.

Another post on X with over 3 million views from an account called Donnie Cope claims that Pretti’s parents said their son had quit his job at the hospital and that he had exhibited unusual behavior. The source for the claims seems to be a Facebook page called “Man Stuff” that also has a quote purporting to be from Pretti’s father about how he’s recently joined some radical group. But it’s also complete bullshit. Nothing about the post is true.

In reality, Pretti’s parents were supportive of their son and are heartbroken over his death at the hands of Trump’s secret police force.

“Alex was a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends and also the American veterans whom he cared for as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital,” the statement from his parents said, according to CBS News. “Alex wanted to make a difference in this world. Unfortunately he will not be with us to see his impact. I do not throw around the hero term lightly. However his last thought and act was to protect a woman.”

“The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting,” the statement continued. “Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs. He has his phone in his right hand and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down all while being pepper sprayed. Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man.”

The sickening lies they’re referring to include statements from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who called Pretti a domestic terrorist and claimed he wanted to “massacre” federal agents. Statements from DHS, apparently led by Stephen Miller, also tried to insist that Pretti had arrived brandishing a gun. That’s simply not true, according to the half dozen videos that have been viewed in which Pretti never once draws his weapon. There’s also no mention of Pretti attacking officers or pulling his gun in the initial DHS report on the shooting, according to NBC News.

Another tweet, clearly inspired by the disinformation on X spreading on Tuesday, tried to insist that he had joined a left-wing group to inflict violence against ICE.

“So now we’ve learned that Alex Pretti was NOT a nurse and NOT a peaceful bystander. He quit his job months ago to join an Antifa cell, and was involved in a violent confrontation with ICE a week or so prior,” the tweet from Trump ally Mike Crispi reads.

“This is why we should NEVER give an inch on these matters. It’s the same story EVERY time once the facts come out,” Crispi continued.

The “violent confrontation” actually refers to an incident first reported by CNN on Tuesday that notes Pretti had a rib broken by ICE a week before his death. The circumstances sound very similar to what happened the day he was killed, where he inflicted no violence and was instead beaten by federal agents. But those facts haven’t gotten in the way of a bullshit social media narrative on the right trying to harm a dead man’s character.

It’s not just Noem and social media. Right-wing media like Fox News have been playing up the idea that Pretti didn’t have his ID on him when he was killed in the street. They point out that while he had a permit to carry his firearm, Minnesota permit holders are required to have their ID on them when they do it. For starters, we simply have to take DHS’s word on the idea that Pretti didn’t have his ID, and they lie all the time. Pretti’s gun also wasn’t properly secured as evidence, according to a new report Tuesday that was delivered to Congress. But even if Pretti wasn’t holding his ID at the time, do gun rights advocates really want to argue that it’s legal to murder a gun owner for that reason?

Alex Pretti was viciously beaten and then shot by at least two masked federal agents for simply recording on a public street. There’s no evidence he did anything but try to help a woman off the ground who had been violently assaulted by a federal agent. Then he paid with his life when those agents fired at least ten shots at him, three hitting him in the back, according to a doctor who was on the scene.

Pretti was a nurse at the VA who was shot in the back for trying to save his neighbors from ICE. And he’s being slandered constantly. Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to be working on most people. But it remains to be seen whether the vibe shift will result in positive change on the ground. Two Republicans, Thom Tillis and Lisa Murkowski, became the first of their party to call for Kristi Noem to resign on Tuesday. And the polling isn’t looking good for Trump’s efforts.

Forty-four percent of Americans support abolishing ICE, with just 41% in opposition, according to a YouGov poll from Saturday, the day Pretti was killed. It seems like a safe bet that such a poll would be even more skewed against ICE today, after a few days of people learning more.

The federal occupation of Minneapolis continues, and ICE’s reign of terror continues in cities that are getting very little attention right now. But decent people around the country should be cautiously optimistic that things are changing. Renee Good and Alex Pretti are martyrs, but the people of Minneapolis have shown themselves to be capable of standing up to Trump’s goons to keep their community safe. The tide seems to be turning, and the bad guys are on their back foot.