PARIS: Barely minutes after the shots had rung out, the assassination attempt on former US president Donald Trump unleashed a firehose of contradictory conspiracy theories that highlight a highly polarised political landscape ahead of elections in November.

The 78-year-old was rushed off stage with blood streaked across his face after the shooting at a political rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday that also killed a spectator and critically injured two others. Security forces shot the shooter dead.

Unsubstantiated claims that the shooting was “staged” and the blood was “fake”, as well as a doctored photo of his security detail smiling just moments after the incident are just some of the unfounded theories that flooded social media.

The stunning attack has supercharged political tensions — and disinformation — in an already divided nation ahead of the presidential election, analysts warn, with rampant speculation and conspiracy theories coming from both sides of the political aisle.

Former president’s supporters believe so-called Deep State is behind the incident

“An event like this, in a moment like this, would fuel conspiracy theories”, Julien Giry, from the University of Tours in France, said. “The more images you have, the more opportunity you have to create an alternative discourse,” he said, adding actors along the political spectrum would try to capitalise to “shift the blame onto the opposing camp”.

‘No one is immune’

Claims of an inside job or a false flag operation spread quickly online, with social media users seeking to blame Trump or his Democratic opponent, President Joe Biden, for the attack.

Some on the left claimed the shooting was staged by Trump to gain political sympathy, while right-wing supporters of the former president suggested his Secret Service detail allowed the attack to happen on orders from the Biden White House.

Social media users also widely circulated photos of two individuals, falsely identifying them as the suspected shooter before authorities released the name of the alleged attacker.

Prominent Democratic strategist Dmitri Mehlhorn — aide to billionaire Reid Hoffman — had to apologise after suggesting the assassination attempt was staged.

“No one is immune to conspiracy theories,” Anthony Mansuy, an expert in US conspiracies, said.

“The ease of access to social media can galvanise individuals into believing that we’re all participating in the collective investigation,” he added.

‘Absolutely false’

On the right, social media users shared a video of Trump’s security detail moving individuals away from the stage as proof of the unfounded claim that the assassination attempt was an “inside job”. A digitally altered image shows Trump’s security detail grinning as they hurry the former president off stage, but a reverse image search found the original photo showing the guards not smiling.

The Secret Service on Sunday denied claims that it rejected a request for more security ahead of the rally as “absolutely false”. “In a situation like the attempted assassination, social media gives individuals a megaphone to blast out whatever unedited or unfiltered feelings or fringe theories they might have, and likeminded individuals enthusiastically consume it,” Roy Gutterman, a Syracuse University professor, said.

“This certainly fuels a lot of the divisive political rhetoric of today, and it is likely also a result of it.” Giry said the assassination attempt will invigorate Trump’s supporters, “giving credence to the fact that this is a man under threat”, some of whom believe the so-called Deep State is behind the incident.

The “Deep State” is a popular belief in American far-right conspiracy circles, particularly the QAnon movement, claiming that there is a parallel secret state pulling the world’s strings for the benefit of private group interests.

Further accelerating the spread of misinformation, analysts say, many tech platforms recently scaled back content moderation — seen by many in the divided country as a tool to censor conservative opinions.

Amid a deluge of posts, “misinformation can go viral faster than ever,” Nora Benavidez, senior counsel at the watchdog Free Press, said. “These elements create a perfect storm for lies, mislabeled content, misleading headlines to filter into our feeds. We must slow down, breathe, verify before sharing anything we see.”

Published in Dawn, July 16th, 2024