How conspiracy theories spread after Donald Trump’s shooting

“Staging”.

Within minutes of the news breaking Assassination attempt on former President Donald Trumpthis word is very popular in the United States.

The term has become synonymous with fringe conspiracy theories on social media, often raising questions about attacks or shootings. But in the past 24 hours it has flooded into the mainstream online conversation, with posts filled with unsubstantiated speculation, hate and invective racking up millions of views on X.

Assassination attempt on the President of the United States It has been a magnet for conspiracy in the past – most notably the November 1963 killing of John F. Kennedy. This was the first show to hit the airwaves, so it’s no surprise that baseless rumors were rife.

But what is striking is how this fervor has spread across all levels of the political spectrum.

It is not limited to a group of staunch political supporters. Instead, it’s actively recommended in the “Recommended for You” feed as users try to understand what’s going on. It is usually posted by users who have purchased a blue tick, which makes their posts more noticeable.

As always, conspiracy theories sometimes start with legitimate questions and confusion. them Centered on alleged security holesmany users will ask how this happened, which is understandable.

How did the attacker get to the roof? Why weren’t they stopped?

A wave pours into the vacuum Doubt, speculation and disinformation.

“This looks very stagey,” read one post on X, which has been viewed 1 million times. “No one in the crowd ran or panicked. No one in the crowd heard the actual gunfire. I don’t believe it. I don’t trust him.

The profile states that it is located on the southwest coast of Ireland. It has since put a note on the X stating that the shooting was real.

once More footage and testimonies It was shared both inside and outside the rally that the panic and fear of the people there became very apparent.

The conspiracy is further complicated by the extraordinary images that have emerged since the initial cut. In particular, a well-received photo taken by AP chief photographer Evan Vucci in Washington showed Trump with a raised fist, blood on his face and ears, and an American flag in the background .

One US-based YouTube account said the photo was “so perfect” and described how they got the “flag positioned perfectly, everything perfect.” The post on X had nearly a million views but was later deleted by the person who shared it. They say in another article that it’s important to correct yourself if you’re wrong.

Others pointed out that Trump raised his hands on stage as the shots rang out. They used this to suggest that the event was set up without evidence to show for it.

“Staging to gain sympathy? You can’t trust these people with anything and no, I won’t pray for him,” another American commentator wrote.

Many of the most popular posts, including this one, come from left-leaning users who often share anti-Trump views. Before today, they already had hundreds of thousands of followers, so they were very influential.

What happened on

One post from a US account that has shared such baseless claims read: “This is the price you pay when you take down Satan’s pedophile elite.”

they allude to QAnon conspiracy theorywhich shows that Trump is waging a secret war against a deep state – a shadowy alliance of security and intelligence agencies that hides in plain sight and tries to thwart his every move.

Without any evidence to support this idea, they went on to suggest that the “orders” for the assassination “could have come from the CIA” and accused Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Mike Pence of being involved. There’s no evidence to support this – but the post has been viewed 4.7 million times.

It’s a familiar pattern, but what’s really changing is how widespread this lingo is being used by average social media users. It’s not just those who don’t like Trump’s suggestion that this was staged, but also those who support him, claiming it’s part of a vast conspiracy theory.

Elected politicians are also involved. Georgia Republican Rep. Mike Collins tweeted that “Joe Biden gave the order.” He referred to President Biden’s comments earlier this week about Putting “Trump in the bull’s-eye”referring to their electoral battle.

Other politicians and media outlets, as well as online, have legitimately questioned some of the language used to describe Trump, which some Trump supporters believe heightened tensions and contributed to the assassination attempt. But if it is said that this was ordered by President Biden, that is a completely different proposition.

Collins’ post has been viewed more than 6 million times on X, but has since been tagged with a community note that said there was no evidence Mr Biden was involved in any way. It added that his “bulls-eye” comments had been taken out of context.

False attempts to identify the shooter have been made in various evidence-free accounts.

After FBI names gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20Shot dead by the Secret Service, everyone else’s reputation was ruined.

Like football commentator Marco Violi, who posted on Instagram in the middle of the night from Italy that he had seen completely false claims that he was a member of Antifa, a loose group of mostly far-left activists. organization) and was the mastermind behind the attack. By the time X tried to set the record straight on Instagram, the false accusations had been viewed millions of times on X.

On The rest of us scrambled to avoid this pit of conspiracy and speculation.

This was a test for Elon Musk’s new Twitter, and it’s hard to say the site passed with flying colors.

Other social media sites were not flooded in the same way, possibly because of their target audience and X’s reputation as a home for political discourse.

X has not yet responded to the BBC’s request for comment.

What happened at the Trump rally? listen The latest episode of Americanast on BBC Sounds.