How conspiracy theories spread after Donald Trump’s assassination

“Staged”.

Within minutes of the news breaking about assassination of former President Donald Trumpfrom which it is trending on X in the US.

It’s a word that has become synonymous with conspiracy theories on social media, often to cast doubt on an attack or shooting. But in the past 24 hours, it has spilled into mainstream online conversation, with posts filled with unsubstantiated speculation, hate and abuse racking up millions of views on X.

Assassination attempts on US presidents has been a magnet for conspiracy in the past – the assassination of John F Kennedy in November 1963 being the most famous. It was the first to take place in real time, so it is no surprise that unfounded rumours have flourished.

But what’s remarkable is that this fever has spread to all sides of the political spectrum.

It wasn’t limited to dedicated political supporters. Instead, it was actively promoted in users’ “For You” feeds as they tried to make sense of what had happened. And it was often posted by users who had purchased blue ticks, giving their posts more prominence.

As usual, conspiracy theories sometimes start with legitimate questions and confusion. They focus on security flaws allegationsand many users wonder why this could happen.

How did the attackers get onto the roof? Why weren’t they stopped?

A wave rushed into that void. skepticism, speculation and misinformation.

“It looks staged,” said one X post that has been viewed a million times. “No one in the crowd ran or panicked. No one in the crowd heard the real gunshot. I don’t believe it. I don’t believe him.”

The file said it was based on the southwest coast of Ireland. It was labeled with a note on the X indicating that the shooting was real.

Once more footage and testimony Both inside and outside the protest, the shared panic and fear of those present became all too evident.

These conspiracy theories have been reinforced by the extraordinary images that have emerged since the first clips. In particular, a widely praised photo taken by the Associated Press’s chief Washington photographer, Evan Vucci, shows Trump, raising his fist, blood on his face and ear, with the American flag in the background.

A US YouTube account said the photo was “too perfect” and described how they “put the perfect flag and everything”. The post on X has been viewed nearly a million times – but has since been deleted by the person who shared it. It’s important to correct yourself if you’re wrong, they said in a separate post.

Others pointed out that Trump raised his hands on stage when the shots rang out, which they used to imply the event was staged when there was no evidence to suggest so.

“Staging for pity? You can’t trust these people with anything and no, I won’t be praying for him,” wrote another commentator in the US.

Many of the most viral posts, including this one, come from left-leaning users who regularly share their anti-Trump views. They had hundreds of thousands of followers before today—and thus significant reach.

What happens on X reads like a conspiracy theory playbook, cultivated on social media by dedicated activists who deny the reality of almost everything, including the Covid pandemic, wars, mass shootings, and terrorist attacks.

A post from a US-based account with a track record of sharing baseless claims like this reads: “This is the price you pay for taking down elite evil pedophiles.”

They are referring to QAnon conspiracy theoryThis suggests that Trump is waging a secret war against a deep state — a shadowy alliance of security and intelligence agencies, hidden from view, seeking to block his every move.

With no evidence to support this idea, they then went on to suggest that the “order” to assassinate “likely came from the CIA” and accused Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Mike Pence of being involved. There is no evidence to support any of this—yet the post has been viewed 4.7 million times.

It’s a familiar pattern, but the real change here is how widely this type of language is used by average social media users. Not only are Trump’s detractors claiming it’s a setup, but his supporters are also accusing it of being part of a widespread conspiracy theory.

Elected politicians have also weighed in. Rep. Mike Collins, a Georgia Republican, tweeted that “Joe Biden sent the order.” He was referencing a comment President Biden made earlier this week about put “Trump in the spotlight”referring to their election campaign.

There are legitimate questions to be asked about some of the language used to describe Trump by other politicians and the media, as well as online, which some Trump supporters say has heightened tensions and contributed to this assassination attempt. But suggesting that this was ordered by President Biden is a different proposition altogether.

Collins’ post has been viewed more than 6 million times on X – but has since been labelled a community note, which says there is no evidence Mr Biden was involved in any way. The post adds that his “right on point” comments were taken out of context.

Faulty attempts to identify the shooter have led to many unsubstantiated stories.

Before the FBI named the gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20 years oldOne person was shot dead by the Secret Service, and the reputations of others were ruined.

Like soccer commentator Marco Violi, who took to Instagram in the middle of the night from Italy to say he had seen completely false claims that he was a member of Antifa—a loose organization of mostly far-left activists—and was behind the attack. Those false claims had millions of views on X by the time he tried to clarify the truth on Instagram.

On X, political activists and supporters quickly retreated into their own echo chambers, reading posts suggested by the site’s algorithms and confirming what they already thought. The rest of us tried to stay away from this pit of conspiracy and speculation.

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

Other social media sites were not affected as much, perhaps due to their target audience and X’s reputation as a place for political discussion.

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

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