Astroworld was suspected of being a satanic ritual by a number of journalists and social media users, and many journalists and social media users have taken issue with these false accusations.
At Travis Scott’s Astroworld festival last Friday, eight people were killed and hundreds were injured.
It was the first night of the annual event held at Houston’s NRG Park, which featured a performance by the rapper on his stage, Utopia Mountain.
WHAT HAPPENED AT ASTROWORLD?
Astroworld Festival was rocked by a crowd surge on Friday (November 5th) that left eight people dead and more than 300 injured.
When people began to gather in front of the stage, it produced a panic, which led to injuries, according to Houston fire chief Samuel Pena.
People started falling out and becoming unconscious, which exacerbated the panic,” he continued.
“I’m utterly devastated by what happened last night,” Travis wrote in an Instagram post on Saturday. Those affected by the tragedy have my deepest sympathies. This awful loss of life continues to receive my full support from Houston’s police department.
It is my hope that we can heal and support the families in our community by working together.
ASTROWORLD ‘SATANIC RITUAL’ CONSPIRACY DEBUNKED
Conspiracy theories regarding Astroworld have appeared on the internet following the recent incident.
Images of the festival’s “see you on the other side” motto first sparked the bogus rumors. True or untrue, a single slogan isn’t sufficient evidence for the misleading claims.
Even when horrific festival footage propagated the rumors, many Twitter users claimed that people were trying to hide the genuine catastrophe that occurred at Astroworld.
Twitter user Shayan Sardarizadeh, who analyzes online disinformation, slammed “baseless rumors indicating the tragedy at Travis Scott’s Astroworld festival was in fact a Satanic ritual or sacrifice” spreading on social media.
False conspiracy theories have been criticized on social media by people who term themselves “tone deaf” and “irresponsible.”
PEOPLE CALL OUT BASELESS CLAIMS
Users took to Twitter and called out the baseless theories, warning other users to check their sources when reading information online.
Multimedia journalist Diyora Shadijanova tweeted: “People would literally rather believe that Travis Scott performed a satanic ritual at Astroworld than look at the probable reason such a tragedy was enabled = profit > people.”
Another Twitter user wrote: “The Astroworld situation is devastating and I along with anyone with a heart is upset and angry about how it’s being handled but calling it a “satanic ritual” is extremely tone deaf and irresponsible imo. Let’s stick to the facts of what happened.”
Someone else added: “These religious conspiracy f***s are so disturbing. People died and parents lost their kids, for them trying to make it seem like it’s a “satanic ritual” other than a management and security issue is so disrespectful. Read a book man idk find a hobby.”