Just months before the crucial US presidential election, there was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania. The incident happened just days before the former president accepted the Republican nomination for a third time.
While law enforcement officials are trying to ascertain the motive behind the 20-year-old man opening fire from a nearby rooftop, the word ‘staged’ started trending on social media in the country within minutes of the attack.
The term has become synonymous with extreme conspiracy theories on social media platforms, often used to question the veracity of an attack or shooting.
Over the past 24 hours, it has overtaken other topics in popular internet discussion, as posts on X have been viewed millions of times, filled with unsupported rumours, hate speech and abuse, the BBC reports.
However, it should be noted that conspiracy theories have historically been formulated around attempts to assassinate US presidents, with the most famous example being the assassination of John F Kennedy in November 1963. The report states that since this was the first such incident to occur in real time, it was not surprising that false reports spread.
This trend was not restricted to committed groups of political supporters and was actively recommended in users’ “For You” feeds as they tried to understand what had happened. Furthermore, it was often posted by individuals with a blue tick, giving their posts more prominence.
Questions raised
Some of these conspiracy theories centered on an alleged security lapse, with social media users questioning how this could have happened.
“This looks very dramatic… No one in the crowd is running or panicking. No one in the crowd heard gunshots. I don’t trust this. I don’t trust that,” one post viewed by millions read.
It looks very dramatic. There was a sound of a BB gun. No one in the crowd seemed to be running or panicking.
No one in that crowd heard the sound of the gun.
I don’t trust this one. I don’t trust that one. ????????♀️ pic.twitter.com/b1Bkruyq2g
— ???????????????? e???????????? (@cyberfrontier) July 13, 2024
Later, a note was added to the post, stating that the firing incident was real.
Furthermore, photos and videos that surfaced later further fueled these conspiracy theories. In particular, one photo showed the former US president with his fist raised, with blood on his face and ear, while an American flag can be seen in the background.
An American YouTuber said the photo was “awesome”, highlighting how they “placed the flag in the perfect place and got everything right”.
However, the post, which had nearly one million views, was later deleted by the person who shared it.
Another ex-user wrote, “Did this dramatize it to get sympathy? You can’t trust these people with anything and no I’m not going to pray for them.”
However, the BBC report highlighted that most of these viral posts were made by left-wing users, who were often seen posting anti-Trump views.
