A world-historical event like the attempted assassination of a U.S. president is bound to generate conspiracy theories.
“Incidents of political violence spawn conspiracy theories and false narratives when people try to spin the event to suit their various agendas,” Megan Squire, deputy director for data analytics at the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project, told the Washington Post. “This incident is no different, with people concocting ‘false flag’ conspiracies and even blaming innocent people for either committing this crime or inspiring it.”
No, Joe Biden did not order a hit on Donald Trump. That's laughable. But those who inspired this crime are not "innocent" — not by a long shot. It's impossible to argue that ten years of overheated, exaggerated rhetoric naming Trump as a "threat to democracy" or a "wannabe dictator" hasn't "inspired' some people to "protect" America and themselves by trying to kill the former president.
But the "false flag" conspiracy theories — that Trump or his campaign planned the assassination attempt — to 1) generate sympathy for the former president and 2) give Trump another attack avenue to hammer the Democrats are already gaining steam and will continue to be refined and added to as necessary.
This feels like a false flag to me.
— 🤌🏿 Imani: That Good Craic (@imanilfc) July 14, 2024
Why?
Shots fired. Secret Service NOT protecting the head of Donald Trump so he can get the photo op?
Like there’s 6 agents and NO ONE is protecting Trump’s head?
They move slow af.
There’s no way this is real.
pic.twitter.com/an3sAanuaG
If you can't see the difference between this video and what just happened today, consider this: who just stands there and raises their hands after an assassination attemptNotice the lack of urgency compared to the second clip, and pay close attention to the crowd
— amentalk (@antiwokeness_) July 14, 2024
#Staged #Trump pic.twitter.com/P74D9wfLXg
I agree with those saying this looks super fishy and potentially staged.
— Larry (@SocratesBigBird) July 14, 2024
Authoritarians are known for staging false flags, planting goons to “attack” etc
Trump just came off another Victor Orban fest at Mar a Lago after all
This looks off and smells staged#falseflag pic.twitter.com/Tud4qAmh2M
The old "capsule of fake blood behind the ear" trick.
Claims that Trump shot at his rally are fake. It's a false flag to blame Democrats and Biden. Notice in the video how Trump grabbed his ear? He popped a fake blood capsule on his ear so it would look like he'd been hit. Then he pumped his fist in the air. BS! pic.twitter.com/fkpFYIHeXw
— Jen Bellona 🌊🇺🇸🇺🇦 (@hoofnmane) July 13, 2024
There's plenty more where that came from.
C-Tech:
In the hours after the incident, two issues related to the assassination attempt that trended in the Hot Topics list on X dealt with conspiracy theories: #staged and #falseflag. At the center of both is the claim (without evidence) that the event was staged. "Pay attention to the lack of urgency and the crowd's reaction," wrote one uesr. Another user wrote: "If someone shot me in the head, I wouldn't stop for a campaign photo."
Another user added: "Crisis actors should be paid better. They've never looked so unconcerned." One user offered a pseudo-physical analysis of the shooting: "How come a bullet supposedly grazes Trump's ear but everyone behind him is fine?" he wrote. "And he touches his ear, and there is no blood on his hand?"
The posts on the topic have gained between several tens of thousands and several hundreds of thousands of views each. As of the time of writing this news, they are all still available on X. None of them offers a comprehensive theory of the conspiracy; they are only short posts that point to the apparent unreliability of the event. However, their inclusion in the list of Hot Topics increases their circulation and can make them the core of a new broad conspiracy theory that will play a significant role in American politics in the coming months.
Some of these conspiracy theories will never be debunked to many people's satisfaction. That's what makes them so toxic and an open sore on the body politic. Believers in conspiracy theories have lost faith in America and its government. They lack the critical thinking skills to discern fact from fiction. They are unable to differentiate between their own partisan-fed fantasies and reality.
Like this guy.
I think Donald Trump is gauging how stupid the American Right really is by staging one of the most obvious False Flag that has ever been created
— Bizarre Pakistani Troll 🇬🇧 🇵🇰 (@LondonMan2023) July 14, 2024
I mean its literally written in front of your eyes !!!#DonaldTrump #DonaldJTrump #CNN #Pennsylvania #Butler pic.twitter.com/p5cSWKpSh2
I hope the drugs can do him some good.
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