The attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday sparked almost immediate conspiracy theories online that experts say will influence the best way the nation responds to this shocking act of political violence.
The attack on Trump marks the primary time in many years that somebody has attempted to take the lifetime of a presidential candidate. While previous assassinations — notably the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963 — have spawned conspiracy theories, the rise of partisan social media allows such claims to spread quickly and unexpectedly.
The claims about Trump's shooting typically got here from random social media users, spreading slander or attempting to assign blame based on their standing within the country's highly polarized political landscape.
The conspiracy theories formed two now well-known camps – some blamed the “deep state” for the incident, others claimed without evidence that the shooting was not what it seemed.
“Seems to be staged,” wrote one social media user.
But even some elected officials joined in with false claims. “Joe Biden gave the orders,” Republican Rep. Mike Collins (Ga.) wrote on the social media platform X.
Some claim that their very own detective work uncovered the conspiracy theories.
“What I find interesting about moments like these is that digital investigators, whether they are ordinary people or politically motivated online trolls… we are all looking in the same place for reliable, true and accurate information,” said Joan Donovan, professor of journalism and latest media studies at Boston University and founding father of the Institute for Critical Internet Studies. “I think it's difficult for the average person to look for verified information that they can use.”
The current media ecosystem has conditioned users to feed on fast, often unverified information, says Michael Spikes, a journalism professor at Northwestern University. And as news outlets close across the country, there are fewer and fewer sources that may confirm breaking news.
As a result, people immediately turn to social media platforms when a news event breaks. Nearly half of all TikTok users say they get their news from the app, in keeping with the Pew Research Center. Occasionally, initially unconfirmed statements later change into confirmed, corresponding to a video circulating on the Internet forum 4chan that later revealed the identity of the shooter, Donovan said.
However, the aim of knowledge provided on social media just isn’t at all times to tell, but quite to elicit reactions, Spikes said.
“When you're faced with that kind of information overload, your ability to think slows down because your brain just thinks, 'This is too much,'” he said. “One person can't watch hundreds and hundreds of videos of what happened and … make sense of it. We can only react to what we saw.”
“We are evolutionarily programmed to seek out information when we are afraid … to basically understand the nature of the threat,” said Erik Nisbet, a professor of policy evaluation and communication at Northwestern University. “And that's where conspiracy theories like this one take advantage of that kind of emotional response.”
By Saturday evening, several common theories had emerged, one among which was voiced by several outstanding conservatives. The view often promoted by the left that Trump is a threat to democracy has effectively made him a goal.
“Today is not an isolated incident,” said Ohio Republican Senator JD Vance, one among Trump’s vice presidential candidates. posted on X“The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs. This rhetoric led directly to the assassination of President Trump.”
Other social media users referred to a press release Biden made the announcement earlier this weekwhen he attempted to calm the swirl of media attention surrounding his appearance at the talk by saying, “It's time to target Trump.” Others falsely claimed that security for Trump had been cut.
Leading politicians tried to stem the growing tide of conspiracy theories – at the same time as others of their ranks continued to fuel the fervor.
“This morning, we rise above the hatred, the vitriol and the simple-minded ideas that ignite violence. We all want a world where respect comes first, family comes first and love comes first,” said former First Lady Melania Trump. in a press release. “We can make that world happen again. Each of us must demand to get it back. We must insist that respect be the cornerstone of our relationships again.”
Meanwhile, the previous president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., opted for a more passionate post on X: “The Democrats and their friends in the media knew exactly what they were doing with the ‘literally Hitler’ bullshit—!”
The heated debates on the Internet are a breeding ground for increasing division and potential violence, Nisbet said.
“We see each other as enemies, not fellow Americans,” Nisbet said. “If the other side is immoral and inhumane and poses an existential threat to us and our country, then it is morally acceptable to use violence against them.”
One of the foremost reasons for political violence is perception – that’s, the assessment of the opposite side’s willingness to make use of violence, says Nisbet.
“[It] becomes a reinforcing spiral,” Nisbet said. “I think the other side is more violent, I commit violence and then the other side thinks I'm violent. And that's really dangerous for our democracy.”
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