{"id":81942,"date":"2024-07-14T18:53:42","date_gmt":"2024-07-14T18:53:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/14\/how-conspiracy-theories-swirled-after-donald-trump-shooting\/"},"modified":"2024-07-14T18:53:42","modified_gmt":"2024-07-14T18:53:42","slug":"how-conspiracy-theories-swirled-after-donald-trump-shooting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/14\/how-conspiracy-theories-swirled-after-donald-trump-shooting\/","title":{"rendered":"How conspiracy theories swirled after Donald Trump shooting"},"content":{"rendered":"


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By\u00a0Marianna Spring,\u00a0<\/span>BBC Disinformation reporter<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"ReutersReuters<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

False rumours swirled online seconds after Donald Trump was shot<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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\u201cStaged\u201d.<\/p>\n

Within minutes of the news breaking about the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump<\/a>, that word was trending on X in the United States.<\/p>\n

It’s a word that has become synonymous with conspiracy theories on the fringes of social media, often to cast doubts on an attack or shooting. But in the last 24 hours it has flooded into mainstream online conversation, and posts filled with evidence-free speculation, hate and abuse have racked up millions of views on X.<\/p>\n

Assassination attempts on US presidents<\/a> have in the past been magnets for conspiracy – the killing of John F Kennedy in November 1963, most famously. This one was the first to play out in real time, so it\u2019s not surprising that unfounded rumours flourished.<\/p>\n

But what has stood out is how this frenzy gripped all sides of the political spectrum.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not been limited to committed groups of political supporters. Instead, it was actively recommended in users\u2019 \u201cFor You\u201d feeds as they tried to make sense of what had happened. And it was often posted by users who have purchased blue ticks, offering their posts greater prominence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

‘Staged’ conspiracies go viral<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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As ever, the conspiracy theories sometimes started with legitimate questions and confusion. They centred on alleged security failings<\/a>, with lots of users understandably asking how this could happen.<\/p>\n

How did the attacker make it to the roof? Why weren\u2019t they stopped?<\/p>\n

Into that vacuum rushed a wave of disbelief, speculation and disinformation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt looks very staged,\u201d read one post on X which racked up a million views. \u201cNobody in the crowd is running or panicking. Nobody in the crowd heard an actual gun. I don\u2019t trust it. I don\u2019t trust him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The profile says it\u2019s based on the south-west coast of Ireland. Its since been labelled with a note on X pointing out the shooting was real.<\/p>\n

Once more footage and testimony<\/a> from both inside and outside the rally was shared, the panic and fear of those there became all too clear.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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