Baseless conspiracy theories are spreading on social media following the shooting incident involving former President Donald Trump.
According to The Washington Post on Sunday, conspiracy theories are circulating in America suggesting that the shooting incident was staged.
Supporters of the Democratic Party have claimed that “the blood on Trump’s ear came from theatrical gel” or “The Secret Service (SS) collaborated with the Trump campaign to stage the incident.”
These theories are being fueled by photos of the former president raising his right hand and shouting slogans while bleeding against the backdrop of the American flag, surrounded by Secret Service agents as he goes down the podium.
The Atlantic reported that conspiracy theories surrounding the attempted assassination of Trump are undermining the perception of reality, noting that unproven hypotheses are quickly being accepted as fact. This suggests that conspiracy theories were widespread even before the nature of the attack or the suspect’s identity had been confirmed.
Immediately after the assassination attempt, terms like “BB gun,” “civil war,” and “where is Biden” topped the list of mentions on X.
There were even theories suggesting that President Joe Biden had secretly issued an assassination order.
Steve Guest, former spokesman for the Republican National Committee (RNC), wrote on X, “President Biden said on the 8th, ‘Let’s stop talking about TV debates. Let’s focus on Trump.'” As this post was widely shared, some interpreted the focus that President Biden meant as a target, starting to claim that “Biden ordered the assassination.”
Republican Congressman Mike Collins also spread the Biden order theory. In a social media post, he claimed that “Joe Biden sent the orders.”
According to the Washington Post, the groups prominently spreading these conspiracy theories include QAnon and BlueAnon. QAnon, known for its far-right, anti-intellectual stance and support for Trump, led the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, asserting that the 2020 election was fraudulent. BlueAnon, a term used to describe a faction within the leftist camp, is propagating the claim that an Associated Press photo of Trump raising his fist against the backdrop of the American flag was staged.
False information about the suspect’s identity was also widely spread. Pictures of an X user claiming to be the shooter circulated, and deepfake videos were produced using a picture of a man with long blonde hair claiming that he hates Trump.
The FBI announced that there has been a surge in online threats of violence following the assassination attempt, expressing concern that these threats could escalate into actual incidents.
