In his column today, Shawn Vestal/SR takes aim at an anti-Muslim ACT for America group that's being formed in the Inland Northwest by Rep. Matt Shea, R-Spokane Valley:

ACT for America – an anti-Muslim group with chapters around the country fermenting sour, ignorant racism – claims that it is leading a fight against Islamic terrorism. Its chief weapon? Smoldering piles of manure. How fortunate we are that an ACT chapter is being formed in the Inland Northwest. By Rep. Matt Shea, naturally.

An example of the extremism surrounding anti-refugee fervor surfaced this week with the false reporting of an alleged sexual assault of a 5-year-old girl by boys from immigrant families in Twin Falls, Idaho. Twin Falls has an especially vocal chapter of ACT, whose members and fellow travelers peddle falsehoods about Syrian refugees and the end of the world. “ISIS is here,” one of these refugee refuseniks told the City Council recently.

Someone took the story of this terrible incident with the young girl and cynically added a bunch of utterly false red meat for bigots. Before you knew it, echo chamber websites – such as InfoWars and The Drudge Report – were pumping out headlines designed to tickle prejudices:

“THREE SYRIAN ‘REFUGEES’ RAPE LITTLE GIRL AT KNIFEPOINT” More here (subscription required).

Also: Race to hate fails to wait for credible reporting (subscription required)/SR editorial